President Donald Trump announced Friday that he would implement new 100% tariffs on imports from China starting next month in response to what he called “aggressive” measures by China regarding export controls.
In a social media post, Trump said the new tariffs would take effect on November 1.
Trump said the move comes in response to China’s “extraordinarily aggressive stance on trade” related to export controls.
President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, western Japan, June 29, 2019.
Susan Walsh/AP, Archives
“You just learned that China has taken an extraordinarily aggressive stance on trade by sending an extremely hostile letter to the world, stating that beginning November 1, 2025, they would impose large-scale export controls on virtually every product they make, and some not even made by them,” Trump said in the post, calling such a move “unprecedented” and a “moral disgrace.”
Tariffs on Chinese imports to the United States currently stand at 30%, down from a peak of 145% earlier this year.
Trump said the new tariffs on China would be “on top of any tariffs they are currently paying.”
In addition to the new tariffs, Trump added that the United States would impose “export controls on all critical software.”
The social media post came after Trump threatened new tariffs on China earlier in the day, sparking a sell-off in stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 385 points, or 0.8%. While the S&The P 500 fell 1.25% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1.75%.
Trump’s announcement came a day after China imposed new restrictions on rare earth minerals, key materials in the production of semiconductors used for everything from artificial intelligence to household appliances.
Speaking to reporters later Friday from the Oval Office, Trump called China’s recent moves “shocking” and said they “came out of nowhere.”
Trump said: “This is not something that I… instigated. It was just a response to something they did. And they didn’t really target us. They targeted everyone.”
Still, he said, “we’ll see what happens.”
President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn after arriving on Marine One at the White House, Oct. 10, 2025, in Washington.
Alex Brandon/AP
In an earlier social media post about China’s trade policy, Trump said, “There is no way China will be allowed to hold the world ‘captive,'” but that appears to have been their plan for quite some time,” Trump said.
In retaliation, Trump threatened a “massive increase” in tariffs on Chinese goods entering the United States, although he said the move would be “potentially painful.”
Earlier Friday, Trump also suggested he might threaten to cancel an upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“This was a real surprise, not only to me, but to all the leaders of the free world. I was supposed to meet with President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now it seems there is no reason to do so,” Trump said in his previous post.
Speaking to reporters later, Trump said he would not cancel the meeting with Xi entirely, saying he still plans to go to South Korea but was unsure if the meeting would still take place.
“We’ll see what happens,” Trump said.
This comes as the US-China trade truce is still in effect, but will expire in less than a month.
