How Trump’s tariffs could help China

A man walks past a screen showing stock movements at a securities office in Beijing on April 3, 2025. | Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s new tariff chart, which he unveiled Wednesday at the Rose Garden, had a mixture of surprising and predictable countries on the list. A high tariff on China? Not so surprising. But among the top 10 countries on his chart, eight are in Asia.

Many close US allies like South Korea and Japan were stunned by the steep rate increases applied to their exports.