US prez warns China of additional 100% tariffs

US President Donald Trump said he would impose an additional 100% tariff on China as well as export controls on "any and all critical software" beginning November 1, hours after threatening to cancel an upcoming meeting with the country's leader, Xi Jinping.

- Bloomberg

"It has just been learned that China has taken an extraordinarily aggressive position on Trade in sending an extremely hostile letter to the World, stating that they were going to, effective November 1st, 2025, impose large scale Export Controls on virtually every product they make, and some not even made by them," Trump said in a social media post.

The gambit will revive fears of a global disruption in trade that could see the world's two largest economies effectively cut off ties, and dramatically raises the stakes for Trump and Xi as they navigate high-stake trade negotiations.

But Trump acknowledged on Friday (local time) that he could retreat from his massive tariff escalation if the Chinese backed down from threatened restrictions on rare earths, while saying that it was still possible that he could meet Xi later this month. "That's why I made it Nov. 1st," Trump said. "We'll see what happens."