Shark Tank star and businessman Kevin O’Leary said Tuesday that he wants the Trump administration to impose a 400% tariff on China and “squeeze Chinese heads into the wall.”
“One hundred and four percent tariffs are not enough. I’m advocating 400%,” O’Leary said during an appearance on CNN’s Laura Coates Live. “I do business in China. They don’t play by the rules.”
President Donald Trump is set to implement a 104% tariff on China on Wednesday following the communist nation’s failure to meet a deadline and drop its barrier taxes on U.S. goods. O’Leary said it’s finally time for the Chinese to pay after decades of cheating the United States.
“Xi can only stay the Supreme Leader if people are employed.”
“America is the #1 economy on earth with all the cards. We will not have that forever. It’s time to squeeze Chinese heads into the wall.”
Kevin O’Leary calls for 400% tariffs on China. pic.twitter.com/8bDrttjsBw
— Thomas Hern (@ThomasMHern) April 9, 2025
“They’ve been in the [World Trade Organization] for decades. They have never abided by any of the rules they agreed to when they came in for decades,” according to O’Leary. “They cheat. They steal. They steal [intellectual property]. I can’t litigate in their courts.”
“They take product, technology, they steal it. They manufacture it, sell it back here … I want [Chinese President Xi Jinping] on an airplane to Washington to level the playing field.”
O’Leary speaks for millions when he says enough is enough regarding China taking advantage of American workers and businesses, he said.
“The [Chinese] government cheats and steals and, finally, an administration — you may not like Trump, you may not like his style or his rhetoric — finally an administration that puts up and says enough,” O’Leary said. “Four hundred percent tariffs tomorrow morning.”
China responded to Trump’s tariffs by placing an 84% tariff against the U.S.
“The U.S. escalation of tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake, severely infringing upon China’s legitimate rights and interests, and seriously damaging the multilateral trading system based on rules,” China’s State Council Tariff Commission said in a statement announcing the latest levy, bringing China’s total tariffs on all U.S. imports to approximately 118%.
TRUMP SLAPS 104% TARIFF ON CHINA AFTER BEIJING VOWS TO ‘FIGHT’
China needs to learn a lesson, and Xi can only remain in power if Chinese nationals are employed, according to O’Leary.
“We are still 39% of all consumables on Earth and 25% of the world’s GDP,” he said. “America is the No. 1 economy on Earth with all the cards. We will not have that forever. It’s time to squeeze Chinese heads into the wall now.”