--- title: Trump's Tariffs—Including 104% China Tax—Kicks in at Midnight description: A 104% tax on Chinese imports is among the Trump tariffs set to take effect Wednesday. Karoline Leavitt said Trump "will not break." canonical: https://time.com/7275802/tariffs-china-104-trump/ author: Brian Bennett article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-04-08T20:46:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:48:45.458Z article:section: Politics og:title: World Leaders Scramble as Trump Tariffs Set to Kick in at Midnight og:description: A 104% tax on Chinese imports is among the Trump tariffs set to take effect Wednesday. Karoline Leavitt said Trump "will not break." og:url: https://time.com/7275802/tariffs-china-104-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt100367ebcd5a7906/6998c5a025f3ee957f64486f/GettyImages-2208589107-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-LEAVITT-BRIEFING og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: World Leaders Scramble as Trump Tariffs Set to Kick in at Midnight twitter:description: A 104% tax on Chinese imports is among the Trump tariffs set to take effect Wednesday. Karoline Leavitt said Trump "will not break." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt100367ebcd5a7906/6998c5a025f3ee957f64486f/GettyImages-2208589107-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # World Leaders Scramble as New Wave of Trump Tariffs Set to Kick in at Midnight > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=89c074ab-0f59-4f25-9520-1dc2ee702ff8&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: "Boys Will Be Boys": White House Press Secretary on Elon Musk and Peter Navarro Feud [Watch (HLS stream): "Boys Will Be Boys": White House Press Secretary on Elon Musk and Peter Navarro Feud](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/a42WDfHd.m3u8) (0:53)  _Published 2025-04-08. "Boys will be boys," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said about feuding between President Donald Trump's advisers Elon Musk and Peter Navarro. Leavitt said “we will let their public sparring continue.” Speaking on CNBC on Monday, Navarro called Musk a "car assembler," not a "car manufacturer," because he said Musk's company Tesla does not use car parts manufactured domestically. In response, Musk on Tuesday called trade adviser Navarro “truly a moron” and “dumber than a sack of bricks" in a post on X._  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is a former senior White House correspondent at TIME. Apr 8, 2025 8:46 PM UTC  Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, conducts a briefing with reporteres in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 8, 2025. Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, conducts a briefing with reporteres in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 8, 2025. Saul Loeb—AFP via Getty Images  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is a former senior White House correspondent at TIME. Apr 8, 2025 8:46 PM UTC With hours to go until the U.S. raises tariffs on goods imported from dozens of countries—including a 104% tax on Chinese imports—world leaders were still scramblingTuesday to understand President Donald Trump’s tariff strategy and reach the right people in the Administration to secure an exemption. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Congress on Tuesday that “nearly 50” countries have approached him to address Trump’s blanket of new tariffs. Argentina, Vietnam and Israel have “suggested they will reduce their tariffs and non-tariffs barriers,” Greer said in testimony to the Senate Finance Committee. But Trump isn’t budging anytime soon, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday. Trump is open to talking to countries on a case-by-case basis, she told reporters, but those negotiations wouldn’t stop the across-the-board 10% tariff on all imports that went into effect over the weekend. Higher tariff rates targeting dozens of countries are set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. That includes a 104% tariff on China, the top supplier of U.S. imports. "Trump has a spine of steel. He will not break. America will not break under his leadership,” Leavitt said. Administration officials continued to stress the prospect of the U.S. making new “deals” with other countries, but the timeline for such negotiations were murky. Leavitt confirmed that Trump insists on putting himself at the center of the negotiations, and is willing to consider offers unrelated to trade in exchange for reducing U.S. tariffs, including having countries cover the costs of hosting U.S. military troops and other foreign policy objectives.. "All options are on the table for each country but again these are going to be tailor-made deals,” Leavitt said. During his visit to the Oval Office on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered to remove Israel’s trade barriers. “Israel’s proactive approach should serve as a model for the rest of the world,” Leavitt said. The U.S. tariff on Israel is still set to increase to 17%. Trump’s approval ratings have declined in recent weeks, as dissatisfaction with his handling of the economy has risen. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found his approval rating was at 43% last week, 4 points lower than when he took office in late January. A Wall Street Journal poll published Friday found that 54% of voters opposed Trump’s tariff plans. In his testimony to Congress on Tuesday, Greer, Trump’s top trade negotiator, said the new tariffs are an effort to move the U.S. economy toward producing “real goods and services.” and less dependent on the financial sector and government spending. Greer acknowledged that the country was in the midst of a dramatic shift. “It is a moment of drastic, overdue change, but I am confident the American people will rise to the occasion as they have done before,” Greer said. ## Transcript There's been some public sparring between Elon Musk and the president's trade adviser, Peter Navarro, on some of these tariffs. Musk actually referred to Navarro as being, quote, dumber than a sack of bricks. Are you at all or is the administration, the president, at all concerned that this is maybe impacting the public's understanding of these tariffs? It might be messing with the message on it. No. Look, these are obviously two individuals who have very different views on trade and on tariffs. Um, boys will be boys and we will let their public sparring continue. And you guys should all be very grateful that we have the most transparent administration in history. And I think it also speaks to the president's willingness to hear from all sides that he has people at the highest levels of this government, in this white House, who have very diverse opinions on very diverse issues. But the president takes all opinions in mind, and then he makes the best decision based on the best interests of the American public. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7275802/tariffs-china-104-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7275802/tariffs-china-104-trump/"},"headline":"World Leaders Scramble as New Wave of Trump Tariffs Set to Kick in at Midnight","datePublished":"2025-04-08T20:46:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:48:45.458Z","description":"A 104% tax on Chinese imports is among the Trump tariffs set to take effect Wednesday. 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