Washington: US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to impose an additional 100 percent tariff on Chinese imports starting on November 1 or sooner, expressing frustration with new export controls placed on rare earth elements by China. Trump also cast doubt on whether he would meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during an upcoming trip to South Korea.
According to France24.com, Trump promised to impose the additional tariffs and threatened to cancel a summit with Xi Jinping, reigniting his trade war with Beijing over export curbs on rare earth minerals. The new levies, along with US export controls on “any and all critical software,” are set to take effect from November 1 in response to what Trump described as Beijing’s “extraordinarily aggressive” actions.
China’s retaliatory tariffs currently stand at 10 percent. Trump announced the tariffs in a lengthy surprise post on his Truth Social network, claiming that China had sent letters to countries worldwide detailing export controls on rare earth minerals. These elements are crucial for manufacturing smartphones, electric vehicles, military hardware, and renewable energy technology, with China dominating global production.
“There is no way that China should be allowed to hold the World captive,” Trump wrote, calling China’s stance “very hostile.” He also questioned his plans to meet Xi at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit later this month, which would have been their first encounter since Trump returned to power in January.
In the Oval Office, Trump told reporters that while he hadn’t canceled the meeting, its occurrence was uncertain. “I’m going to be there regardless, so I would assume we might have it,” he said. Trump expressed confusion over China’s timing, stating, “Some very strange things are happening in China! They are becoming very hostile.”
He noted that other countries had contacted the United States to express anger over China’s “great Trade hostility, which came out of nowhere.” Trump accused Beijing of “lying in wait” despite six months of positive relations, marked by progress on bringing TikTok’s US operations under American control.
His remarks come weeks after he emphasized the importance of meeting Xi at the APEC summit and announced plans to visit China next year. Washington and Beijing engaged in a tit-for-tat tariffs war earlier this year, threatening to halt trade between the world’s two largest economies. Although both sides agreed to de-escalate tensions, the truce remains fragile.
Trump recently stated that he would push Xi on US soybean purchases as American farmers, a key demographic in his 2024 election win, deal with the fallout from his trade wars. In response, China announced “special port fees” on US-operated and built ships after Washington imposed charges on Chinese-linked ships in April.
Additionally, the US communications watchdog reported successfully removing “millions” of listings for banned Chinese items from commerce platforms. Brendan Carr, head of the Federal Communications Commission, accused the Communist Party of China of trying to insert insecure devices into American homes and businesses.