Trump to impose additional 100% tariffs on China in response to Chinese export controls

The president, Donald Trump, announced Friday the imposition of additional 100% tariffs on imports from China, effective November 1st or sooner if Beijing takes additional measures.

The move is in addition to tariffs already in place. It is in direct response to the recent escalation of export controls announced by the Asian country on rare earth metals and other critical materials.

In a message posted on its Truth Social, Trump described the Chinese action as “extraordinarily aggressive" and "a moral disgrace in dealing with other nations." He stated that Beijing sent "an extremely hostile letter to the world" declaring large-scale export controls on "virtually every product they make, and some not even made by them,” affecting all countries without exception.

Additionally, the president stated that the United States will impose export controls on "all critical software" as of the same date.

The announcement comes days before a planned meeting in South Korea later this month, which now remains up in the air, following Trump's statements that "there is no reason" to meet with the Chinese leader.

Trade tensions between the two nations

Bilateral relations between Washington and Beijing have experienced ups and downs. In April, after rounds of negotiations in Geneva and London, both countries temporarily reduced tariffs.

However, friction persisted on sensitive issues. In September, negotiations over the sale of TikTok—the short video app owned by China's ByteDance—and China responded with 34% tariffs on U.S. goods following new impositions by Trump, including 100% on foreign pharmaceuticals and movies.

Later that month, in Madrid, the U.S. and China reached a "framework agreement" to transfer control of TikTok to a U.S. entity, with a confirmatory call between Trump and President Xi Jinping.

The new escalation

The current escalation is focused on rare earths, essential elements for semiconductors, electric vehicle batteries, and military technology.

Yesterday, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced the expansion of export controls to five additional metals (holmium, erbium, thulium, europium and ytterbium), adding to the seven restricted in April.

These measures, effective from November 8 for some items, require licenses to export products containing more than 0.1% of these materials, processing technologies, and equipment for lithium batteries and synthetic graphite. Beijing justified the restrictions on the grounds of "national security and nonproliferation obligations", but refused licenses to foreign military users of advanced semiconductors.

Rare earths and China

China dominates 90% of global rare earth refining and 100% of certain magnets, giving it a significant advantage in global supply chains.