FX.co ★ Trump warns China of 50% tariffs over Iran support

Donald Trump has officially announced his intention to impose a 50% tariff on all Chinese goods if reports confirm that Beijing has supplied portable missile defense systems to Iran. The warning follows intelligence data revealing a potential expansion of military-technical cooperation between China and Tehran amid ongoing instability in the Middle East.

In an interview with Fox News, the US president expressed skepticism about the reliability of these reports while outlining the scale of the potential economic response. "I doubt they would do that... but if we catch them doing that, they get a 50% tariff, which is a staggering — that's a staggering amount," Trump stated. Despite China being one of the guarantors of the temporary ceasefire, any potential arms shipments could radically alter the dynamics of US-China relations, introducing significant uncertainty into global trade processes.

China's economy remains heavily dependent on Iranian exports, having accounted for over 80% of all sanctioned Iranian oil purchases in 2025. According to the Kpler analytics firm, Chinese tankers are among the few vessels that have maintained access to the Strait of Hormuz during the current maritime blockade. The rise in gasoline prices within China has already reached 11%, prompting government authorities to impose administrative limits on retail prices to stabilize the domestic market. Further escalation of the trade conflict with the US poses additional risks to China's energy security and the stability of its industrial sector.