Trump Slaps 100% Tariff on Chinese Imports, Tightens Grip on Software Exports

President Donald Trump announced Friday that the U.S. will impose a sweeping 100% tariff on all imports from China, doubling existing rates and escalating an already volatile trade standoff. The move, set to take effect November 1, also includes new export controls on “any and all critical software,” signaling a dramatic expansion of Washington’s economic pressure campaign against Beijing.

The White House framed the decision as retaliation for China’s latest export restrictions on rare earth minerals—materials essential to high-tech manufacturing, including electric vehicles, defense systems, and semiconductors. China currently accounts for about 70% of the global supply of rare earths, giving it outsize leverage over industries powering both the digital and green economies.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump accused China of taking “an extraordinarily aggressive position on trade” and of sending “an extremely hostile letter to the world” about its plans to impose “large-scale export controls on virtually every product they make.” He called the move “a moral disgrace in dealing with other nations” and said the U.S. would respond with tariffs “over and above any tariff that they are currently paying.”

The planned tariffs—on top of an effective 40% average rate already in place, according to Wells Fargo and the New York Fed—would represent the steepest trade penalties ever levied by the U.S. against China. Products ranging from consumer electronics and automotive components to machinery and raw materials are expected to be affected.

Trump also announced parallel export restrictions on “critical software,” a term that remains undefined but could encompass tools essential for advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, and AI systems. Industry groups and technology analysts warned that such controls could disrupt global supply chains and intensify the decoupling between U.S. and Chinese tech ecosystems.

The announcement follows Beijing’s Thursday declaration that, beginning December 1, foreign companies will need special licenses to export any products containing more than 0.1% of rare earth elements sourced or processed in China. The rule extends to products made using Chinese extraction or magnet-making technologies, tightening control over supply chains critical to industries from EV batteries to missile guidance systems.

Trump also hinted that he may cancel a planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at next month’s APEC summit in South Korea, citing the rare earths dispute.

With the U.S. already in a partial government shutdown and markets reeling from tariff uncertainty, Friday’s escalation underscores how technology, trade, and geopolitics have become inseparably intertwined in the new global order.