BEIJING (AP) — China said Tuesday it would “fight to the end” and take countermeasures against the United States to safeguard its own interests after President Donald Trump threatened an additional 50% tariff on Chinese imports.

The Commerce Ministry said the U.S.‘s imposition of “so-called ‘reciprocal tariffs’” on China is “completely groundless and is a typical unilateral bullying practice.”

China, the world’s second-largest economy, has taken retaliatory tariffs and the ministry hinted in its latest statement that more may be coming.

“The countermeasures China has taken are aimed at safeguarding its sovereignty, security and development interests, and maintaining the normal international trade order. They are completely legitimate,” the ministry said.

“The U.S. threat to escalate tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake and once again exposes the blackmailing nature of the US. China will never accept this. If the US insists on its own way, China will fight to the end,” it added.

Trump’s threat Monday of additional tariffs on China raised fresh concerns that his drive to rebalance the global economy could intensify a financially destructive trade war. Stock markets from Tokyo to New York have become more unstable as the tariff war worsens.

Trump’s threat came after China said it would retaliate against U.S. tariffs he announced last week.

“If China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Additionally, all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated!”

If Trump implements his new tariffs on Chinese products, U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods would reach a combined 104%. The new taxes would be on top of the 20% tariffs announced as punishment for fentanyl trafficking and his separate 34% tariffs announced last week. Not only could that increase prices for American consumers, it could also give China an incentive to flood other countries with cheaper goods and seek deeper relationships with other trading partners, particularly the European Union.

Trump frequently bragged about stock market gains during his first term, and the threat of losses on Wall Street was viewed as a potential guardrail on risky economic policies in his second term. But that hasn’t been the case, and Trump has described days of financial pain as necessary.

“I don’t mind going through it because I see a beautiful picture at the end,” he said.

Trump officials have frequently appeared on television to make the case for his policies, but none of their explanations has calmed the markets. The only improvement came from a false report that top economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Trump was considering a pause on all tariffs except for China. Stock prices spiked before the White House denied it was true by calling the post “fake news.”

China is one of the U.S.’s top trading partners, especially for consumer goods, and the tariffs — essentially a tax on imports paid by U.S. companies — will eventually be passed on to the consumer.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union would focus on trade with other countries besides the United States, saying there are “vast opportunities” elsewhere.

U.S. total goods trade with China were an estimated $582 billion in 2024, making it the top trader in goods with the U.S. The 2024 deficit with China in goods and services trade was between $263 billion and $295 billion.

In Hong Kong, where stocks were slightly higher Tuesday, Chief Executive John Lee blasted the latest U.S. tariffs as “bullying,” saying the “ruthless behavior” has damaged global and multilateral trade and brought great risks and uncertainties to the world.

Lee said the city would link its economy closer to China’s development, sign more free trade agreements, attract more foreign companies and capital to Hong Kong, and support local enterprises in coping with the impact of the tariffs.

___

Associated Press writers Chris Megerian and Josh Boak in Washington, Christopher Bodeen in Taipei, Taiwan, and Kanis Leung in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When he struck out Houston’s Jake Meyers for the second out of the eighth inning Sunday afternoon, right-hander Jhoan Duran did the little hop on the mound he typically does to accentuate the moment.

There seemed this time to be a bit more spring in Duran’s step, possibly because it was a particularly nasty looking pitch, one he had never thrown before in a game: a sweeper.

Sweepers are a type of slider that “sweeps” across the strike zone at a typically slower speed than a traditional slider, which is supposed to have a tighter break.

Duran threw Meyers an 87.3 mph sweeper, per MLB Statcast, that had 11 inches of horizontal break and 41 inches of drop. Perhaps it was because he had no idea it was coming, but Meyers had no chance. Statcast did list Duran as throwing one sweeper in 2024, but it appeared to be mislabeled. This pitch wasn’t on any scouting report.

If he can repeat it, the sweeper would be an important addition to Duran’s arsenal, which includes a four-seam fastball (averaging 100 mph), a split-finger fastball, and a knuckle curve — which was Duran’s most effective pitch in 2024. Duran credited Twins teammates, including right-hander Justin Topa, with helping him to learn it.

Right-hander Pablo López throws a sweeper, and explained why Duran might benefit by adding a pitch against right-handed batters. Because of how Duran releases the ball, a sweeper is a more natural pitch to execute than others. It fits in well with his repertoire.

“I don’t think he’s ever tinkered or explored with anything going to the glove side,” López said. “It might have been time for him to give himself a power pitch to the glove side. I’m not surprised he’s done this. He can throw that pitch hard and with big, big movement.”

Duran’s four-seamer remains in the top percentile of fastest pitches in the league, but he was vulnerable against it in ‘24. An effective breaking pitch of this type could make his fastball more effective, too.

Everybody go long

Lopez said he was aware of the team’s need for the starting pitchers to go longer into games. Through the first nine games of the season, Twins starters were dead last in the league in innings pitched with 40. The best comparison, the Philadelphia Phillies, had thrown 53 1/3 innings in their nine games.

“That’s what we want,” López said. “I want to be the guy who is the best option the third time through the lineup.”

In the two previous games, Twins starters didn’t get any outs in the fifth. Manager Rocco Baldelli wants the Twins starters to go deeper, and says he expects them to, but he also uses tactics to win the game as it’s being played. If that means a quicker hook, so be it. But the bullpen won’t stand up forever to the stress of getting too much extra work, so the clock is ticking.

“We do need to run into a stretch at some point soon where we’re not running through [so many relievers],” Baldelli said. “And our starters are out there giving us the innings that they’re capable of giving us.”

Cole train runnin’

The Twins and López face left-hander Cole Ragans in game two of the series Tuesday. After AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal and NL Cy Young Chris Sale, it’s possible that Ragans is the best lefty starter in the league.

“Every metric you can look at says so,” Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers said.

Ragans throws a 95-96 mph four-seamer and was effective with his changeup and curve in 2024. He posted a 1.88 ERA in four starts against the Twins a year ago.

“We see each other so many times, there aren’t a lot of secrets,” Ragans said. “They have a bunch of guys with a lot of power. It comes down to me executing my game plan, but it usually does come down to that.”

Related Articles

Twins third baseman Royce Lewis progressing from hamstring strain

Astros score eight unanswered runs in comeback win over Twins

Hustle plays by Byron Buxton, Christian Vazquez pay off for Twins

Jose Miranda supplies the power, Bailey Ober the grit in win over Astros

Twins center fielder Byron Buxton off and running

By MICHELLE L. PRICE and LOLITA C. BALDOR

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is having early discussions about a grand military parade in the nation’s capital this summer, something that is a long-held dream of President Donald Trump.

Related Articles

RFK Jr. says he plans to tell CDC to stop recommending fluoride in drinking water

Colleges around the US say some international students’ visas are being revoked

Maine sues the Trump administration over funding freeze after dispute over transgender athletes

Ohtani, Betts and World Series champion Dodgers visit Trump at the White House

Appeals court restores DOGE access to sensitive information at US agencies

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday that the administration had reached out to the city about holding a parade on June 14 that would stretch from Arlington, Virginia, where the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery are located, across the Potomac River and into Washington, D.C.

The Army is in early discussions about potentially adding a parade to the Army’s 250th birthday festival, which is being held June 14, according to a defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions are ongoing and no decisions have been made.

June 14 is also Trump’s 79th birthday.

The White House in a statement said that “no military parade has been scheduled.”

The Army birthday festival, which has been in the planning stages for about two years, is to include an array of activities and displays on the National Mall, including Army Stryker armored vehicles, Humvees, helicopters and other equipment.

In a statement, Col. David Butler, an Army spokesman, said that “it’s too early to say yet whether or not we’re having a parade but we’re working with the White House as well as several government agencies to make the celebration a national level event.”

Trump in his first term proposed having a grand military parade in the U.S. after watching one in France on Bastille Day in 2017. Trump said after watching the two-hour procession along the famed Champs-Elysees that he wanted a grander one in Washington on Pennsylvania Avenue.

But the event never happened due to expected high costs, with one estimate of a $92 million price tag, and logistical hangups.

Trump in 2018 said in a post on the social media site then known as Twitter that he was canceling the event over costs and accused local politicians of price gouging.

“When asked to give us a price for holding a great celebratory military parade, they wanted a number so ridiculously high that I cancelled it,” he said in his post.

Bowser, speaking at a news conference Monday, said she didn’t know if the event was being “characterized as a military parade” but said military tanks rolling through the city’s streets “would not be good.”

“If military tanks were used, they should be accompanied with many millions of dollars to repair the roads,” she said.

Takis Karantonis, the chair of the Arlington County Board, said in a statement that Secret Service contacted the county on Friday “regarding the possibility of a military parade to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the U.S. Army, but no further details were offered.”

Karantonis said it was not clear what the scope of the parade would be but said, “I would hope the Federal Government remains sensitive to the pain and concerns of numerous active military and veteran residents, who have lost or might lose their jobs in recent federal decisions, as they reflect on how best to celebrate the Army’s anniversary.”

Though Bowser was more matter-of-fact in her remarks Monday, the District of Columbia had publicly mocked the idea of a military parade during Trump’s first term.

The D.C. Council’s official account on X said in a January 2019 post about winter weather that schools and government offices would still open on time, but then added: “The Giant Tank Parade: Still cancelled.”

Months later, in June 2019, the account posted a Defense Department memo to show that the military opposed using tanks on city streets.

The latest parade plans were first reported by Washington City Paper on Sunday.

Associated Press writer Ashraf Khalil contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to use an 18th century wartime law to deport Venezuelan migrants, but said they must get a court hearing before they are taken from the United States.

Related Articles

RFK Jr. says he plans to tell CDC to stop recommending fluoride in drinking water

Colleges around the US say some international students’ visas are being revoked

Maine sues the Trump administration over funding freeze after dispute over transgender athletes

Ohtani, Betts and World Series champion Dodgers visit Trump at the White House

Appeals court restores DOGE access to sensitive information at US agencies

In a bitterly divided decision, the court said the administration must give Venezuelans who it claims are gang members “reasonable time” to go to court.

But the conservative majority said the legal challenges must take place in Texas, instead of a Washington courtroom.

In dissent, the three liberal justices said the administration has sought to avoid judicial review in this case and the court “now rewards the government for its behavior.” Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined portions of the dissent.

The justices acted on the administration’s emergency appeal after the federal appeals court in Washington left in place an order temporarily prohibiting deportations of the migrants accused of being gang members under the rarely used Alien Enemies Act.

“For all the rhetoric of the dissents,” the court wrote in an unsigned opinion, the high court order confirms “that the detainees subject to removal orders under the AEA are entitled to notice and an opportunity to challenge their removal.”

The case has become a flashpoint amid escalating tension between the White House and the federal courts.

Attorney General Pam Bondi called the court’s ruling “a landmark victory for the rule of law.”

“An activist judge in Washington, DC does not have the jurisdiction to seize control of President Trump’s authority to conduct foreign policy and keep the American people safe,” Bondi wrote in a social media post.

The original order blocking the deportations to El Salvador was issued by U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg, the chief judge at the federal courthouse in Washington.

President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act for the first time since World War II to justify the deportation of hundreds of people under a presidential proclamation calling the Tren de Aragua gang an invading force.

Attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of five Venezuelan noncitizens who were being held in Texas, hours after the proclamation was made public and as immigration authorities were shepherding hundreds of migrants to waiting airplanes.

Boasberg imposed a temporary halt on deportations and also ordered planeloads of Venezuelan immigrants to return to the U.S. That did not happen. The judge held a hearing last week over whether the government defied his order to turn the planes around. The administration has invoked a “ state secrets privilege ” and refused to give Boasberg any additional information about the deportations.

Trump and his allies have called for impeaching Boasberg. In a rare statement, Chief Justice John Roberts said “impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.”

Associated Press writer Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.