Trump announces new 100% tariff on Chinese imports, after stock market sell-off

China imposed limits on rare earth minerals a day earlier.

President Donald Trump announced Friday he would implement new 100% tariffs on imports from China starting next month in response to what he called "aggressive" moves by China regarding export controls.

In a social media post, Trump said the new tariffs would take effect Nov. 1.

Trump said the move comes in response to China’s "extraordinarily aggressive position on trade" related to export controls.

"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 the post, calling such a move "unprecedented" and a "moral disgrace."

Tariffs on Chinese imports into the U.S. currently stand at 30%, down from the high point of 145% earlier this year.

Trump said the new tariffs on China would be "over and above any Tariff that they are currently paying."

In addition to the new tariffs, Trump added that the U.S. would impose "Export Controls on any and all critical software."

The social media post came after Trump threatened new tariffs on China earlier in the day, triggering a stock selloff. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 385 points, or 0.8%. While the S&P 500 fell 1.25% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 1.75%.

Trump's announcement came a day after China imposed new restrictions on rare-earth minerals, key materials in the production of semiconductors used for everything from artificial intelligence to home appliances.

Speaking to reporters later on Friday from the Oval Office, Trump called China's recent moves "shocking" and said they "came out of the blue."

Trump said, "This is not something that I ... instigated. This was just a response to something that they did. And they didn't really aim it at us. They aimed it at the whole world."

Still, he said, "we'll see what happens."

In an earlier social media post about the China trade policy, Trump said, "There is no way that China should be allowed to hold the World 'captive'" but that seems to have been their plan for quite some time," Trump said.

In retaliation, Trump threatened a "massive increase" in tariffs on Chinese products coming into the US, even though he said the move would be "potentially painful."

Earlier Friday, Trump also suggested he may threaten to cancel an upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

"This was a real surprise, not only to me, but to all the Leaders of the Free World. I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems to be no reason to do so," Trump said in his earlier post.

Speaking to reporters later, Trump said he wasn't canceling the meeting with Xi outright, saying he still plans to go to South Korea, but he wasn't sure if the meeting would still happen.

"We'll see what happens," Trump said.

This comes as the trade truce between the US and China is still in effect but set to expire in less than a month.