Trump issues China tariff threats

WALL STREET PLUMMETS AFTER RARE EARTH DISPUTE

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RAISING THE STAKES: President Donald Trump breaks some news about drug prices at the White House in Washington on Friday.

Wall Street tanked on Friday after US President Donald Trump rattled markets by unleashing a string of bellicose threats against China after Beijing tightened its rare earth restrictions.

In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump said he is weighing a “massive” tariff increase on Chinese imports and said there is no reason to meet with China's President Xi Jinping in two weeks as planned, adding that there are “many other countermeasures” under consideration.

The tirade shocked markets and threatened further damage to already strained relations between the world’s two largest economies.

All three major US stock indexes sold off sharply in the wake of Mr Trump's remarks, suffering their largest single-day percentage drop in months. The broad selloff erased the possibility of the indexes notching weekly gains, despite having reached record closing highs in recent sessions.