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.
China accuses USA of double standards after tariff announcement
After the announcement of further tariffs by President Donald Trump, hina accuses the USA of double standards and is threatening countermeasures. Washington has long generalized the principle of national security, abused export controls, used discriminatory measures against China and unilaterally expanded its jurisdiction over products such as semiconductors and computer chips, said the Commerce Ministry in Beijing.
China also accused the USA of disrupting global supply chains with its measures. Beijing is calling on the US to correct its “wrong approach”, uphold the results of past trade talks and resolve mutual concerns through dialogue.
China threatens countermeasures
“If the US stubbornly sticks to its course, China will resolutely take appropriate measures to protect its legitimate rights and interests,” the ministry said.
The agency responded to a question about Trump’s declaration that he would impose additional tariffs of 100 percent on imports from China starting November 1st. This followed China’s announcement that it would expand export controls on rare earths.
The ministry justified the measure as legitimate in order to improve its own export control system in accordance with the law. The authority pointed to the importance of rare earths for military use and recurring conflicts around the world.
The role of rare earths
China is a major global producer of important raw materials and therefore has decisive leverage in negotiations with the USA. The raw materials and the magnets made from them are needed in industry as well as the high-tech and defense sectors. They are found in numerous products from electric motors and semiconductors to turbines.
China has a high concentration of mineral resources. Contrary to what their name suggests, rare earths are not necessarily rare. But extracting the mineral resources is difficult because they are tied up in other raw materials. China has specialized in the procedure.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX)