Trump Declares 100% Tariff on China After 'Hostile' Trade Threat

By Martin Foskett | Newswire | Knelstrom Media

PALM BEACH, U.S.A. — 11 October 2025 — President Donald J. Trump has announced that China has taken what he described as an "extraordinarily aggressive position on Trade," accusing Beijing of sending "an extremely hostile letter to the World" declaring that, effective 1 November, it will impose large-scale export controls on "virtually every product they make, and some not even made by them." Calling the move "unheard of in International Trade" and "a moral disgrace," Trump declared that the United States would retaliate with a 100 % tariff on Chinese imports and a ban on exports of critical software.

​The post appeared on Truth Social late Thursday, written in Trump's usual rhythm of disbelief and resolve. It carried the tone of both alarm and certainty, as if the world's largest economies had already crossed a line neither intended to approach. "It is impossible to believe that China would have taken such an action," he wrote, before closing, with characteristic finality: "The rest is History."

Beijing has not confirmed issuing such a letter, though China has recently widened its export controls on strategic materials, citing national security. These include new licensing requirements for rare earth minerals, semiconductor tools, and dual-use technologies, steps that analysts have described as part of a gradual tightening of industrial leverage rather than a full-scale blockade. Trump's account, however, recasts those measures as a coordinated global threat, a plan "devised by them years ago," as he put it.

The proposed American response would mark the most significant single tariff increase in modern U.S. history, doubling existing import duties on Chinese goods and extending restrictions into the digital sphere. Trump's announcement that "critical software" exports would be curtailed drew comparisons to previous semiconductor controls, though no list of affected products has yet been provided.

Economic analysts in Washington reacted with familiar unease. Some warned that a 100 % tariff would drive consumer prices sharply higher. In contrast, others viewed it as the logical conclusion of Trump's long-standing argument: that economic deterrence, not negotiation, brings results. "He's not trying to rebalance trade," one trade adviser noted drily. "He's trying to end dependence."

Global markets stirred at the news. The dollar rose against the yuan, while commodity futures climbed on fears of disrupted supply chains. In Brussels, trade officials urged "restraint and clarity," though no joint Western response was announced. The World Trade Organisation declined to comment on the President's claim, saying only that it had received "no formal communication" from China.

At Mar-a-Lago, the post read less like a policy statement than a signal, a notice of intent to reassert economic dominance on Trump's own terms. The phrasing, heavy with moral outrage and national certainty, recalled his first trade battles of 2018, though this time delivered from a position of executive authority rather than an electoral campaign. Whether the Chinese letter exists or not may matter less than the effect of Trump's belief in it: markets now move according to his tone.

The coming weeks will test whether that tone carries the weight of law or theatre. For now, the two nations appear set on a collision course, one declaring control of production, the other of consequence. Between them, the world waits, half in disbelief, half in recognition of a rhythm it already knows by heart.