WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the United States will impose a 100 percent tariff on Chinese goods “in addition to any tariffs they are currently paying” effective November 1. He said that export controls will be imposed on all major software from the same day.
In a post on Truth Social on Friday (local time), the US President said, “Based on the fact that China has taken this unprecedented step and is speaking only for the United States, and not for other countries that have been similarly threatened, effective November 1, 2025 (or sooner, depending on any other actions or changes made by China), the United States will impose a 100 percent tariff on China, in addition to any tariffs they are currently paying.” Also, on November 1, we will be imposing export controls on any and all critical software.”
Trump made the announcement in response to China’s “unusually aggressive stance on trade” by sending a “very hostile letter to the world.”
“It has just been revealed that China has taken a very aggressive stance on trade, sending a very hostile letter to the world, stating that they are going to impose massive export controls on almost every product they make, and some that they don’t even make, effective November 1, 2025. This affects all countries without exception and was clearly a plan they had in place years ago. This is absolutely unheard of in international trade and a moral outrage in dealing with other countries.”
“It is impossible to believe that China would have taken such an action, but they did and the rest is history,” Trump said. Thank you for your attention to this matter.’’
Trump’s announcement came in response to China’s decision to increase restrictions on rare earth exports, expanding its control list and expanding the restrictions to cover production technologies and foreign applications, including the military and semiconductor sectors.
Earlier on Friday, Trump said there was “no reason to meet” with Chinese President Xi Jinping after Beijing took “very hostile” steps by imposing sweeping new export controls on rare earth elements.
He warned that the United States was preparing to respond with strong countermeasures, including “a massive increase in tariffs” on Chinese goods. China, which dominates the global processing of rare earth minerals used in everything from smartphones to fighter jets, has added five new elements—holmium, erbium, thulium, europium and ytterbium—to its current list of banned minerals, bringing the total to 12 from 17. Export licenses will now be required not only for the elements but also for technologies related to mining, smelting and magnet production.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said the move was aimed at “protecting national security and interests” and preventing the materials from being used “directly or indirectly in military and other sensitive fields.” China has also imposed new restrictions on lithium batteries and graphite anode materials used in electric vehicles, CNN reported.
The new measures will be fully implemented between November and December, reflecting Beijing's growing leverage in trade talks with the United States ahead of a possible meeting between President Xi Jinping and Donald Trump at the APEC summit in South Korea later this month. CNN also noted that the latest restrictions reflect Washington's own export controls on advanced chips, which mark a new phase in the ongoing US-China trade conflict.