US President Donald Trump has announced plans to impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese imports beginning next month, further intensifying economic tensions between Washington and Beijing.
In a post shared on social media, Trump also revealed forthcoming export controls on critical US-developed software, signaling a sharp escalation in the ongoing trade dispute.
The move comes in response to China’s recent decision to tighten export regulations on rare earth minerals — a strategic resource in which Beijing holds near-total global dominance.
Accusing China of becoming “very hostile” and attempting to hold the world “captive,” Trump condemned the new Chinese export rules, which he claimed were aimed at undermining global supply chains.
His remarks followed threats to cancel an anticipated summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, although he later clarified the meeting was not officially called off. “I’m going to be there regardless,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Financial markets responded swiftly to the developments. The S&P 500 closed down 2.7% — its steepest single-day drop since April — as investors braced for a potential acceleration in the trade war.
China’s rare earths export restrictions — a repeat of earlier measures taken after Trump raised tariffs earlier this year — have sparked alarm among U.S. manufacturers heavily dependent on these critical inputs. The materials are indispensable for products ranging from electric vehicles to smartphones and military equipment. When similar controls were enacted previously, U.S. automaker Ford was forced to temporarily halt production.
In a further move likely to stoke tensions, China has launched a monopoly investigation into American tech giant Qualcomm. The inquiry could delay its acquisition of another chipmaker and comes despite Qualcomm’s significant business presence in China.
Beijing has also introduced new port fees targeting vessels with U.S. ties, including ships operated or owned by American firms.
“Some very strange things are happening in China!” Trump wrote in another social media post. “They are becoming very hostile.”
The two economic superpowers have been navigating a fragile trade détente since May, when they agreed to scale back punitive tariffs that had brought bilateral trade to a near halt. Nevertheless, U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods remain elevated — up 30% from the start of the year — while China continues to impose a 10% levy on American imports.
Since then, both sides have engaged in a series of talks on contentious issues including agriculture, the video-sharing app TikTok, rare earth supply chains, and semiconductor technology. A high-level meeting had been expected this month on the sidelines of a regional summit in South Korea.
Observers believe China’s recent actions may be a strategic gambit ahead of any negotiations. Jonathan Czin, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, said the rare earth directive’s delayed implementation suggests a calculated effort by President Xi to gain leverage.
“He’s looking for ways to seize the initiative,” Czin noted. “The Trump administration is having to play a game of whack-a-mole and deal with these issues as they come up.”
According to Czin, Beijing appears confident in its resilience. “What China took away from the Liberation Day tariffs and the cycle of escalation followed by de-escalation is that the Chinese side had a higher pain threshold,” he said. “From their perspective, the Trump administration blinked.”
During previous negotiations, China has lobbied for more predictable U.S. trade policy and looser controls on high-tech exports — particularly semiconductors.
President Xi has repeatedly used China’s dominance in rare earth production as a bargaining chip. This week’s newly announced restrictions are considered particularly consequential, as they specifically target overseas defense contractors.
“Nothing makes America move like targeting our defense industry,” said Gracelin Baskaran, director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “The U.S. is going to have to negotiate because we have limited options, and in an era of rising geopolitical tension and potential conflict, we need to build our industrial defense base.”
While the Trump-Xi summit now appears in jeopardy, Baskaran suggested it may not be entirely off the table. The new Chinese rules are not set to take effect until December, leaving room for renewed diplomacy.
“Negotiations are likely imminent,” she said. “Who does them and where they happen will be determined with time.”
Source: BBC
SMS/
