Trump imposes new 100% tariff on China, threatens to cancel Xi summit

US President Donald Trump has reignited tensions with Beijing by announcing a new 100 percent tariff on Chinese imports, alongside fresh export restrictions on critical technologies. The measures, set to take effect on November 1, come in retaliation for what Trump described as China’s “extraordinarily aggressive” export curbs on rare earth minerals.

“It is impossible to believe that China would have taken such an action, but they have — and the rest is history,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The announcement triggered sharp declines on Wall Street, with the Nasdaq falling 3.6 percent and the S&P 500 dropping 2.7 percent, as investors reacted to fears of a renewed trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

Currently, Chinese goods face a 30 percent U.S. tariff under earlier measures introduced by Trump, who has accused Beijing of unfair trade practices and links to the U.S. fentanyl crisis. China’s retaliatory tariffs stand at around 10 percent.

The latest escalation was sparked by China’s decision to restrict exports of rare earth minerals — materials vital for producing smartphones, electric vehicles, military hardware, and renewable energy technologies. China dominates global production of these minerals, giving it significant leverage in global supply chains.

“There is no way that China should be allowed to hold the world captive,” Trump said, calling Beijing’s stance “very hostile.”

The president also cast doubt on his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit later this month in South Korea.

“I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, but now there seems to be no reason to do so,” Trump posted online.

Later, however, he told reporters in the Oval Office that the meeting had not been formally canceled. “I haven’t canceled, but I don’t know that we’re going to have it. I’ll be there regardless, so we’ll see,” he said.

Trump expressed frustration over China’s timing, saying Beijing had become increasingly hostile despite months of seemingly positive relations. “Some very strange things are happening in China,” he remarked.

He also claimed that other countries had reached out to Washington to express concern about China’s growing “trade hostility,” accusing Beijing of “lying in wait” even as both sides made progress on issues such as U.S. control over TikTok’s American operations.

The latest outburst comes just weeks after Trump had highlighted the importance of meeting Xi and even hinted at a possible visit to China next year.

Washington and Beijing engaged in a series of tit-for-tat tariff exchanges earlier this year, temporarily cooling tensions after months of escalation. However, the fragile truce now appears to be unraveling.

China responded Friday by announcing “special port fees” on U.S.-operated and U.S.-built ships, following earlier American charges on Chinese-linked vessels.

Meanwhile, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said it had removed “millions” of listings for banned Chinese products from online marketplaces.

“The Communist Party of China is engaged in a multi-pronged effort to insert insecure devices into Americans’ homes and businesses,” FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said on X (formerly Twitter).

The renewed tariff confrontation underscores the volatility in U.S.-China relations — and threatens to deepen global economic uncertainty just months before the APEC summit.