Trump's tariffs unleash chaos in China with workers' revolt over unpaid wages, layoffs: Report

President Donald Trump's tariffs have reportedly unleashed chaos in China, with workers protesting over unpaid wages and layoffs.

A Radio Free Asia report claims that workers' protests are spreading across China, prompted by Trump's 145% tariff on the nation's imports. It states that hundreds of employees have taken to the streets to demand back pay and challenge layoffs following the abrupt shutdown of some Chinese factories.

'Their economy is collapsing.'

Workers from one electronic factory reportedly contend that the company has not paid their wages since the beginning of 2025 and that they have not received social security benefits since June 2023.

Those previously employed at other Chinese factories have reported similar issues regarding abrupt layoffs, as well as unpaid wages and benefits.

Shan Hui, chief China economist at Goldman Sachs, estimated that 16 million jobs are involved in producing goods sold in the U.S.

"Prices will need to fall for domestic and other foreign buyers to help absorb the excess supply left behind by U.S. importers," Shan stated.

Before Trump's tariffs took effect, China saw strong economic gains in the first few months of the year.

Sheng Laiyun, deputy director of the National Bureau of Statistics, stated, "The national economy had a steady and good start, continuing the upward trend."

"However, we must also see that the current external environment is becoming more complex and severe, and the effective domestic demand growth momentum is insufficient," Sheng added.

Goldman Sachs predicted that Trump's tariffs would "significantly weigh" on China's economy.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) recently praised Trump for his actions against China to bring manufacturing back to the U.S.

Mullin told Fox News this week, "President Trump is the first president that we've had that actually has a backbone strong enough to stand up and say we've got to right this wrong, start manufacturing goods here."

"China has got rich off our country," he continued. "Forty percent of all their goods they manufacture are sold back here in the United States. And they rip us off all the time."

In an NBC News interview released over the weekend, Trump confirmed his plans to keep the steep tariffs against China in place — for now.

When asked whether he would drop the tariffs, Trump responded, "Why would I do that?"

"Would you lower them?" he was asked.

"At some point, I'm going to lower them because otherwise, you could never do business with them — and they want to do business very much," Trump said. "Their economy is really doing badly. Their economy is collapsing."

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