The U.S. will begin imposing new tariffs on imports from China in response to the country’s plans to implement export controls on numerous goods, President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post Friday.
Effective Nov. 1, the 100% levies will stack on the combined duties to which goods from China are already subject, per Trump. The president also said he would impose export controls on critical software the same day but did not provide additional details.
Trump said he is imposing the new tariffs because China plans to “impose large scale Export Controls on virtually every product they make.”
On Thursday, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced it would place export restrictions on rare-earth-related goods and technology, including manufacturing equipment, lithium batteries and graphite anode materials. The measures will take effect Nov. 8, per a spokesperson for the ministry.
The latest actions reignite a trade spat between the U.S. and China that had cooled in recent months.
Earlier this year, Trump hiked tariffs on China-originating products to as much as 145%, while China responded with countermeasures. However, both countries agreed to lower tariffs during a 90-day pause that was later extended to Nov. 10.
During the truce, representatives from the U.S. and China have met multiple times to negotiate terms of a potential tariff-related agreement. In fact, in June, Trump said a deal was “done,” pending final approval from the president and China President Xi Jinping.
Although Trump said China had taken “significant steps” to address U.S. trade concerns in an August executive order, the deal has still not been finalized. This week’s actions put a potential long-term agreement into jeopardy.
“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 said in an earlier Truth Social post Friday.
However, on Sunday, Vice President J.D. Vance indicated there could be room to negotiate if China is “willing to be reasonable.”
“We're going to find out a lot in the weeks to come about whether China wants to start a trade war with us or whether they actually want to be reasonable,” Vance told Fox News. The next day, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News there had been “substantial communication” between the two countries over the weekend and that he still expected Trump and Xi to meet in Korea this month.
China has not announced specific countermeasures to Trump’s latest tariff threat, but Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Monday said “the U.S. should correct its approach.”
“The two sides can and should address each other’s concerns through dialogue and manage differences on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit to keep bilateral ties on a steady, sound and sustainable track,” Lin said, according to a translated transcript published by the Foreign Ministry. “If the U.S. keeps refusing to change course, China will be firmly resolved in taking measures to safeguard its own legitimate rights and interests.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include comments from officials from both the U.S. and China.
