Trump Imposes 100% Tariffs on All Chinese Goods Amid Tensions

US President Donald Trump announced on Friday an additional 100% tariff on all Chinese goods, effective November 1, 2025, stacking atop the existing 30% duties already in place. The move, detailed in a fiery Truth Social post, comes in direct retaliation to China's aggressive expansion of export controls on rare earth minerals, which Trump labeled as "extraordinarily aggressive" and "very hostile." These minerals, essential for everything from electric vehicle batteries and semiconductors to fighter jets and renewable energy tech, are overwhelmingly dominated by China, which controls about 70% of global mining and 90% of processing.

Trump didn't stop at tariffs; he also vowed to enforce strict US export controls on "any and all critical software," targeting China's tech sector and further straining bilateral relations. "It is impossible to believe that China would have taken such an action, but they have, and the rest is History," he wrote, echoing his signature flair for dramatic proclamations. In an earlier post, he accused Beijing of "lying in wait" after six months of relatively smooth relations, including progress on US oversight of TikTok's operations to comply with last year's congressional mandates.

The announcement sent shockwaves through global financial markets, with the Nasdaq plunging 3.6% and the S&P 500 dropping 2.7%—its worst single-day slide since April—fueled by fears of disrupted supply chains and higher costs for consumers and manufacturers alike. Analysts warn that the new tariffs could inflate prices on everything from smartphones to automobiles, hitting American households and businesses hard, while exacerbating inflation pressures in an already volatile economy.

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Compounding the economic fallout, Trump cast serious doubt on his planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in South Korea later this month—the first in-person meeting between the leaders of the world's two largest economies since Trump's January return to the White House. "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 declared, signaling a potential collapse of fragile diplomatic channels. Just weeks ago, Trump had touted the meeting's importance, even floating a 2026 visit to China, and last week he expressed intent to press Xi on boosting US soybean exports—a lifeline for American farmers reeling from prior trade skirmishes that played into his 2024 election victory.

China's latest maneuvers, unveiled Thursday, mandate special approvals for foreign firms exporting products containing even trace amounts of rare earths sourced from Beijing, extending to production technologies and overseas military applications. This builds on a summer of tit-for-tat actions: The US imposed charges on Chinese-linked ships in April, prompting Beijing's Friday announcement of "special port fees" on US-operated and built vessels. Earlier this year, a full-blown tariff war threatened to grind trade to a halt, but a shaky May truce slashed US duties to 30% and Chinese ones to 10% amid negotiations. That detente now hangs by a thread, with experts like Gracelin Baskaran of the Center for Strategic and International Studies calling China's rare earth curbs "particularly serious" for targeting defense manufacturers.

Trump's broader grievances extend to Beijing's alleged role in the fentanyl crisis and unfair trade practices, themes that defined his first-term trade battles. He claimed other nations have reached out to the US, fuming over China's "great Trade hostility, which came out of nowhere." In a parallel crackdown, the Federal Communications Commission announced it had scrubbed "millions" of listings for banned Chinese tech from US commerce platforms, with Chairman Brendan Carr accusing the Communist Party of a "multi-prong effort to insert insecure devices into Americans' homes and businesses."

As of Friday evening, Beijing had offered no official response, leaving the world on edge. Brookings Institution fellow Jonathan Czin suggested Xi's timing is strategic, aiming to bolster leverage ahead of talks without immediate enforcement. Yet with the US lacking domestic capacity to replace Chinese rare earth supplies, the stakes couldn't be higher: a full-blown trade rupture could cripple the AI boom, green energy transition, and national security efforts, reshaping global alliances and economies for years to come.

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