Trump to hike China tariffs to 130% and impose software export controls next month, as trade war reignites to nearly ‘Liberation Day’ levels
president Donald Trump said Friday he would impose an additional 100% tariff on China and limit U.S. software exports, escalating the trade war after months of seemingly backing away toward a resolution.
The latest attacks came after China restricted its exports of rare earths, which are important minerals used in various industries, from the technology sector to automakers and defense contractors.
In the late afternoon, Trump took to Truth Social to denounce Beijing’s “broad export controls on virtually every product it makes.”
He added: “Based on the fact that China has taken this unprecedented position, and speaking only on behalf of the United States, and not other countries under a similar threat, starting on November 1, 2025 (or earlier, depending on any other actions or changes China takes), the United States of America will impose a 100% tariff on China, in addition to any tariff it currently pays.” “Also on November 1, we will impose export controls on any and all critical software.”
This would raise US tariffs on China to 130%, which is close to the 145% rate that Trump imposed in April on “Liberation Day” and immediately after – before the US agreed to suspend its highest tariffs while China paused its retaliatory tariffs as negotiations began.
Stock and bond yields fell as Wall Street braced for a potential new round of tit-for-tat retaliation. The S&P 500 fell 2.7%, suffering its worst sell-off since the height of the trade war chaos in April.
China dominates rare earths, producing more than 90% of the world’s rare earth elements and rare earth magnets. This served as a major source of pressure on the United States
Meanwhile, grain prices fell after Trump indicated earlier on Friday that he would not meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month at an economic summit in South Korea.
That dashed hopes that the two leaders could reach a trade deal that included Chinese purchases of US soybeans, which have historically been a major export but have failed to attract any orders from China this harvest season.
Before the crisis erupted, trade talks between the United States and China were progressing after Trump reached agreements with the European Union, Japan, South Korea and other major trading partners.
But tensions remain, including the issue of rare earths, while the United States has moved to restrict other countries’ exports of semiconductor-related products to China.
Also this week, the United States announced port fees on Chinese ships, prompting Beijing to impose similar fees on American ships calling at Chinese ports.
Then on Thursday, China’s Ministry of Commerce said that starting on December 1, a license would be required for foreign companies to export products containing more than 0.1% rare earth elements from China or made using Chinese production technology.
“Our relationship with China over the past six months has been very good, which makes this move on trade even more surprising,” Trump said in an earlier post on Truth Social. “I always felt like they were lurking, and now, as usual, I’ve been proven right!”
2025-10-10 22:13:00
