Trump warns of new Chinese import levy

President Trump said Friday that he’s placing an additional 100% tax on Chinese imports starting Noy. 1 or sooner, potentially escalating tariff rates close to levels that in April fanned fears of a global recession.

- By JosH Boak AND Dip1 TANG

PRESIDENT TRUMP plans a new tariff on Beijing. Above, a terminal in China.

(YU FANGPING Feature China / Future Publishing)

The president said on his social media site that he is imposing these new tariffs because of export controls placed on rare earth elements by China. The new tariffs built on an earlier post Friday on Truth Social in which Trump said that “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea.

Trump said that “starting November Ist, 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 announcement came after financial markets closed Friday and risked throwing the global economy into turmoil. Not only would the global trade war instigated by Trump be rekindled at dangerous levels, but import taxes being heaped on top of the 30% already being levied on Chinese goods could, by the administration’s past statements, cause trade to break down between the U.S. and China in ways that could cause growth worldwide to slump.

While Trump’s wording was definitive, he is also known for backing down from threats. Some investors began engaging in what the Financial Times called the “TACO” trade, which stands for “Trump Always Chickens Out.”