US Tariffs on China Hit 47.5 Percent Amid Escalating Trade Tensions and Technology Security Concerns

Listeners, welcome back to China Tariff News and Tracker, where we break down the fast-moving world of U.S.–China trade so you don’t have to.

The big headline in U.S.–China tariffs right now is simple and stark: the United States is running the highest overall tariff levels in roughly ninety years, and China is at the center of that wall of protection. The Associated Press, citing Yale Budget Lab data, reports that the effective U.S. tariff rate across all imports in 2025 climbed to nearly 17 percent by November, about seven times higher than it was at the start of the year and the highest since 1935. Within that, tariffs on imports from China are dramatically steeper: calculations by trade economist Chad Bown at the Peterson Institute for International Economics put the average U.S. tariff on Chinese goods at roughly 47.5 percent, a level that has pushed China from America’s top supplier down to third place behind Canada and Mexico.

Multiple outlets, including AInvest News summarizing Tax Foundation and Penn Wharton Budget Model work, say President Trump’s 2025 strategy layers a general 10 percent tariff on nearly all U.S. trading partners on top of targeted actions, with some categories of Chinese goods facing rates as high as 60 percent. Those across‑the‑board and China‑specific surcharges help explain why the U.S. effective tariff rate is now in the mid‑teens, and why economists are warning about a drag on growth, higher prices, and long‑term income losses for American households.

On the China side, the dispute is increasingly about advanced technology and national security. A recent notice in the Federal Register details new U.S. actions under Section 301 of the Trade Act tied to what Washington calls China’s unfair practices in the semiconductor sector, adding or raising tariffs on a range of Chinese chip‑related products in the U.S. tariff schedule. Trade lawyers at the China Law Blog note that Section 301 duties on China remain a core driver of tariff volatility, and they highlight how 2025 brought multiple new “reciprocal” and security‑linked measures, along with a major crackdown on tariff evasion using false origin claims and creative customs classifications.

All of this is happening against a backdrop of China’s massive and persistent trade surplus. Economist Paul Krugman has pointed out that China’s surplus recently crossed the one‑trillion‑dollar mark, arguing that Beijing’s export‑driven strategy and underconsumption at home are distorting global trade and intensifying pressure in Washington to keep tariffs high as a counterweight.

For listeners trying to track the signal through the noise, here are the key takeaways: U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods are now close to 50 percent on average, some sensitive product lines face 60 percent or more, and the legal and enforcement environment around those tariffs is tougher than at any time in decades. The numbers are big, the politics are hardening, and neither side is signaling a quick return to pre‑trade‑war normal.

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