Trump threatens 100% tariff on ‘aggressive’ China

US President Donald Trump has announced that the United States will impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese imports, accusing Beijing of taking an “extraordinarily aggressive position” on trade and sending what he described as an “extremely hostile letter to the world”.

In a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday, Trump wrote: “Based on the fact that China has taken this unprecedented position, and speaking only for the USA, and not other nations who were similarly threatened, starting November 1st, 2025 (or sooner, depending on any further actions or changes taken by China), the United States of America will impose a tariff of 100% on China, over and above any tariff that they are currently paying.

“It is impossible to believe that China would have taken such an action, but they have, and the rest is history. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

The president said the decision followed China’s introduction of large-scale export controls on nearly all of its products, including rare earth materials vital to global industries. Beijing’s move means foreign companies must now seek special approval to ship these metallic elements abroad.

Trump added that the US would also impose export controls on all critical software to China, signalling a sharp escalation in the ongoing trade tensions between the two powers.

Earlier on Friday, Trump said there “seems to be no reason” to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping during an upcoming visit to South Korea later this month. 

“I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems no reason to do so,” he posted.

The trip was expected to include stops in Malaysia for the ASEAN summit, Japan, and South Korea, where the meeting between the two leaders had been planned ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Trump also hinted that “many other countermeasures” were being seriously considered.

The move marks the biggest rupture in US-China relations in six months, raising fears about the stability of the global economy. Wall Street saw its worst day since April, with the S&P 500 falling by 2.7% amid growing concern over the latest developments.

Beijing’s restrictions on rare earth exports had come just weeks before the planned meeting between the two presidents, adding further strain to already fragile diplomatic and trade ties between the world’s largest economies.