- By Ajeet Kumar
- Sat, 11 Oct 2025 08:01 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to place an additional 100 per cent tax on Chinese imports starting on November 1 or sooner, potentially escalating tariff rates close to levels that in April fanned fears of a global recession. The president expressed frustration with new export controls placed on rare earth elements by China — and said on social media that “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea.
Trump later told reporters he had not cancelled his meeting. "No, I haven't cancelled. However, I'm not sure if we'll have it. I'll be there regardless. I would assume we might have it. However, they hit the world with something. It was shocking. Out of the blue, they came up with this whole import-export concept, and nobody knew anything about it," he told reporters at the White House.
Trump also suggested there may be time to ratchet down his steep new tariff threat. “We're going to have to see what happens. That's why I made it Nov. 1,” he said.
China's new restrictions
On Thursday, the Chinese government restricted access to rare earth minerals, requiring foreign companies to get special approval for shipping the metallic elements abroad. It also announced permitting requirements on exports of technologies used in the mining, smelting and recycling of rare earths, adding that any export requests for products used in military goods would be rejected.
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On social media, Trump described the export controls as “shocking” and “out of the blue.” He said China is “becoming very hostile” and that it's holding the world “captive” by restricting access to the metals and magnets used in electronics, computer chips, lasers, jet engines and other technologies.
Trump said in a post that “starting November 1st, 2025 (or sooner, depending on any further actions or changes taken by China), the United States of America will impose a Tariff of 100% on China, over and above any Tariff that they are currently paying.” The president also said the US government would respond to China by putting its own export controls “on any and all critical software” from American firms.
(With inputs from agencies)