Daijiworld Media Network – Washington

Washington, Oct 11: US President Donald Trump on Friday reignited his trade war with China, announcing an additional 100 percent tariff on Chinese goods and threatening to cancel his upcoming summit with President Xi Jinping. The move came in response to Beijing’s export curbs on rare earth minerals, critical for global tech and defense industries.

Trump said the new tariffs, along with export controls on “any and all critical software,” would take effect from November 1. “It is impossible to believe that China would have taken such an action, but they have, and the rest is history,” he wrote on Truth Social.

Global markets reacted sharply, with the Nasdaq plunging 3.6 percent and the S&P 500 falling 2.7 percent. Trump accused China of “extraordinarily aggressive” trade behavior and warned that the US “will not be held captive” to Beijing’s dominance in rare earth production.

The former tariffs imposed under Trump’s administration already stood at 30 percent, while China’s retaliatory duties were at 10 percent. Beijing has yet to respond officially to the latest move.

The US president also hinted at scrapping his planned meeting with Xi at the APEC summit in South Korea later this month, saying, “Now there seems to be no reason to do so.”

Trump’s announcement marks a dramatic escalation just weeks after both sides had sought to ease trade tensions. He also accused Beijing of “lying in wait” despite months of improved ties, including efforts to bring TikTok’s US operations under American control.

As tensions deepen, Washington has tightened scrutiny of Chinese goods and technology. The US Federal Communications Commission said it recently removed millions of banned Chinese products from online platforms, warning of attempts by the Communist Party of China to “insert insecure devices” into American homes and businesses.