President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to impose a 100% tariff on Chinese imports starting Nov. 1 or sooner, escalating tensions with Beijing after China restricted exports of rare earths vital to U.S. industries.
The Republican president said there was "no reason” to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping during his upcoming trip to South Korea, hinting that his administration is preparing a sweeping response to Beijing’s latest move.
"One of the policies 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.”
Trump’s remarks came hours after financial markets closed, rattling investors and reigniting fears of a global trade war between the world’s two largest economies. The S&P 500 had already tumbled 2.7% on worries about renewed tensions — its worst day since April, when Trump last floated steep import taxes.
Beijing’s new export restrictions require foreign companies to obtain special approval to ship rare earth elements abroad, effectively tightening control over minerals and magnets used in electronics, semiconductors, lasers, and military technologies. The move followed fresh U.S. sanctions on Chinese firms and comes ahead of a potential Trump-Xi meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
"I have not spoken to President Xi because there was no reason to do so,” Trump said. "China is becoming very hostile and is holding the world captive by restricting access to the metals and magnets we need.”
If implemented, Trump’s 100% tariffs would add to the 30% already levied on Chinese goods, potentially halting trade flows and risking a global economic slowdown. Analysts warned that higher import taxes could also fuel inflation and strain the U.S. job market.
Experts said the standoff underscores the fragility of the recent détente between Washington and Beijing. "This could mark the beginning of the end of the tariff truce,” said Craig Singleton, senior director of the China program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. "Both sides are reaching for their economic weapons at the same time, and neither seems willing to back down.”
China, which produces roughly 70% of the world’s rare earths and 93% of the permanent magnets used in high-tech industries, wields significant leverage. "These restrictions undermine our ability to develop our industrial base and strengthen the U.S. military,” said Gracelin Baskaran of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Despite the sharp rhetoric, Trump has been known to reverse course on tariff threats. Some investors have dubbed the phenomenon the "TACO” trade — short for "Trump Always Chickens Out.”
Still, with both governments trading economic blows, the risk of "mutually assured disruption,” as Singleton put it, appears higher than at any time since the 2020 trade war — and neither Washington nor Beijing seems ready to blink.