17 October 2025

Trump puts extra 100% tariff on China imports, adds export controls on ‘critical software’

President Donald Trump said the United States would impose a new tariff of 100% on imports from China “over and above any Tariff that they are currently paying,” starting on Nov. 1.


The move is in retaliation for new export controls that China imposed on rare earths minerals.


Around 70% of the global supply of rare earths minerals comes from China. The minerals are essential for high-tech industries, including automobiles, defense and semiconductors.


Nearly every product imported into the U.S. from China already faces steep tariffs. While there are different levels of specific duties on imports, ranging from 50% on steel and aluminum, to 7.5% on consumer goods, the so-called effective tariff rate on Chinese imports currently is 40%, according to Wells Fargo Economics and analysts at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.