US President Donald Trump has announced additional tariffs of 100 percent on imports from China to the US.
These would be collected from November 1st – or earlier depending on China’s further actions – the Republican wrote on his Truth Social platform and justified the project with China’s current trade policy.
There is currently a pause in the customs dispute between China and the USA, which escalated in the spring. In April, both countries imposed surcharges of more than 100 percent on imports from the other country. It was not clear from Trump’s announcement whether the tariffs now announced are a further increase to those already announced in the spring or how they relate to them.
In his post, Trump also announced export controls for all important software from November 1st. He did not give any further details. The so-called export controls are mostly export bans that the government can lift in individual cases. This allows a country to influence which products end up in other countries.
Trump questions meeting with Xi
Hours earlier, Trump had questioned his planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea with reference to the ongoing trade conflict. He was supposed to meet Xi at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit at the end of October – “but now there seems to be no reason for it,” the Republican wrote on Truth Social on Friday.
Trump justified his statement by saying that China had allegedly sent “letters to countries around the world” announcing export restrictions on rare earths and other materials. This “came out of nowhere” and could paralyze world trade and harm many countries. The People’s Republic is becoming increasingly “hostile,” said Trump. In his new post, he specified that from November onwards, China had, among other things, announced export controls on almost all of the products it produces.
The so-called rare earths are extremely important for electronics from smartphones to televisions as well as in car production and the Defense industry. China plays a central role in the global supply of minerals.
Could Trump change course again?
A little later in the Oval Office, Trump indicated some scope for de-escalation, but did not commit himself. When asked about the planned meeting with Xi, he said he had not canceled it. He doesn’t know whether it will happen. He will be there in any case, so he assumes that it could take place, Trump said shortly afterwards.
The Republican had already met the Chinese several times in his first term in office. Among other things, both heads of state met in person in Osaka, Japan, in 2019, and Xi traveled to Mar-a-Lago in the US state of Florida in 2017.
A journalist also asked the US President about possible changes in course if China were to move away from the export restrictions announced by Trump. We have to wait and see what happens, replied Trump. That’s why he chose November 1 as the deadline, he added. He did not explain in more detail whether or under what conditions he could possibly change his position again.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX)