NEW YORK — Kevin O’Leary means business. The “Shark Tank” star and veteran businessman is pushing for nothing less than a massive 400% tariff on Chinese imports into the United States. Which would render the current 104% rate as of April 9, 2025, a mere slap on the wrist.
O’Leary, who’s tangled with China in business deals for two dozen years, says it’s time to stop playing nice. His reasoning? Force Beijing to the negotiating table, punishing decades of trade sins — plus place the U.S. on top of the global economic heap. It’s a big swing — and he has a lot of dirt on China on which to make his case.
O’Leary’s logic starts with leverage. He refers to the 400 percent tariff as a “tactical warhead,” a blow so severe that China would have no option but to negotiate within “48 hours.” Imagine this: exports from China, suddenly uncompetitive, rot on the dock while President Xi Jinping reluctantly schedules a flight to Washington.
That is O’Leary’s dream scenario. He’s not just playing a part, either. With China trying to surpass the U.S. as the world’s economic leader (America still accounts for 25% of global G.D.P.), he contends now is the time to hit, before the scales tip too far.
Kevin O'Leary on CNN - 400% Tariffs
Then there’s the retaliation aspect. O’Leary has spent decades watching China skirt World Trade Organization rules, a pattern he says began when they joined in 2001. “They’ve been cheating,” he said on CNN, rallied by weak United States pushback from previous administrations.
Intellectual property theft tops his list — China’s ability to pilfer tech secrets has cost American companies billions. Throw in a one-sided legal system where U.S. companies can’t protect their patents in Chinese courts, while China exploits America’s, and you’ve got O’Leary’s personal vendetta in sharp focus. He’s done playing their game.
But this is not only about one man’s grudge. O’Leary’s 400 percent tariff leans on a long, sordid tale of China sticking it to the U.S.
Consider IP theft: estimates place the yearly damage at hundreds of billions, from hacked servers to forced tech transfers as the price of market entry. China’s WTO membership? A taunt to critics who argue Beijing’s flouted the rulebook — subsidizing state firms, blocking U.S. imports and ignoring IP violations.
Currency manipulation is another sore point for O’Leary. By artificially depressing the yuan, China’s created a dirt-cheap trade in exports that’s flooded American shelves while racking up trade deficits — $355 billion in just 2022.
The hits keep coming. U.S. firms in China face a bleak choice: relinquish proprietary tech or be frozen out. That’s built China’s tech giants on America’s dime. Then there’s dumping—state-backed floods of cheap steel, solar panels, and more have gutted U.S. industries, prompting anti-dumping duties that barely dent the problem.
Cyber espionage adds another layer. State-sponsored hacks, like the 2015 Office of Personnel Management breach, have siphoned off sensitive U.S. data, while China tightens its chokehold on rare earth minerals—key to tech and defense—and dangles export curbs as a geopolitical club.
Don’t snooze on the fentanyl crisis, either. China’s the source of countless precursor chemicals helping to fuel America’s opioid epidemic, and despite promises to crack down, the flow hasn’t abated.
The U.S. added a 20 percent tariff in 2025 tied to trafficking, but it’s a drop in an ocean. And then there’s forced labor — the cotton and goods of Xinjiang keep seeping into American supply chains, in violation of bans based on human rights abuses. It’s a moral body blow atop the economic one.
O’Leary’s betting 400% is the knockout blow. He wants China “on its knees,” forced to rethink a game he says it’s rigged for too long. Critics warn of chaos—skyrocketing prices, a trade war spiral—but supporters see it as the bold move America’s dodged for years. Either way, O’Leary’s not bluffing. He’s got the receipts, and he’s ready to make China pay.
Please leave your opinions / comments on these stories below, we appreciate your perspective!
