Trump To Impose 100% Tariff On Chinese Goods

23 hours ago
President Donald Trump said Friday that he’s placing an additional 100% tax on Chinese imports starting on Nov. 1 or sooner, potentially escalating tariff rates close to levels that in April fanned fears of a steep recession and financial market chaos.

The president said he is imposing these new tariffs because of export controls placed on rare earths by China.

Trump said on Truth Social that “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.”

Trump said Friday that “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea and threatened additional tariffs after China restricted exports of rare earths needed for American industry.

The Republican president suggested that he was looking at a “massive increase” of import taxes on Chinese products in response to Xi’s moves. It's possible that this could amount to either posturing by the United States for eventual negotiations or a retaliatory step that could foster new fears about the stability of the global economy.

“One of the Policies that we are calculating at this moment is a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States of America,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. “There are many other countermeasures that are, likewise, under serious consideration.”

The United States and China have been jostling for advantage in trade talks, after the import taxes announced earlier this year triggered a trade war between the world's two largest economies. Both nations agreed to ratchet down tariffs after negotiations in Switzerland and the United Kingdom, yet tensions remain as China has continued to restrict America's access to the difficult-to-mine rare earths needed for a wide array of U.S. technologies.

Trump did not formally cancel the meeting with Xi, so much as indicating that it might not happen as part of a trip at the end of the month in Asia. The trip was scheduled to include a stop in Malaysia, which is hosting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit; a stop in Japan; and a visit to South Korea, where he was slated to meet with Xi ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

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

Trump’s threat shattered a monthslong calm on Wall Street, and the S&P 500 tumbled 2.7% on worries about the rising tensions between the world’s largest economies. It was the market's worst day since April.