Trump’s 100% tariff threat: History of US trade measures against China

China has accused the United States of “double standards” aft US President Donald Trump threatened to enforce an further 100 percent tariff connected Chinese goods successful effect to Beijing’s curbs connected exports of uncommon world minerals.

China says its export power measures announced past week were successful effect to the US restrictions connected its entities and targeting of Beijing’s maritime, logistics and shipbuilding industries.

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Trump’s tariff threats, which travel weeks up of the apt gathering betwixt the US president and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, person the imaginable to reignite a commercialized warfare months aft Washington lowered the China tariffs from 125 to 30 percent.

The actions by the world’s 2 largest economies endanger to ignite a caller commercialized war, adding further uncertainty to planetary trade. So what’s the caller past of US commercialized measures against China, and volition the 2 countries beryllium capable to resoluteness their differences?

Why did China tighten export controls connected uncommon earths?

On October 9, China expanded export controls to screen 12 retired of 17 rare-earth metals and definite refining equipment, effectual December 1, aft accusing Washington of harming China’s interests and undermining “the ambiance of bilateral economical and commercialized talks”.

China besides placed restrictions connected the export of specializer technological instrumentality utilized to refine rare-earth metals connected Thursday.

Beijing justified its measures, accusing Washington of imposing a bid of commercialized curbs connected Chinese entities contempt the 2 sides being engaged successful commercialized talks, with the past 1 taking spot successful Madrid, Spain past month.

Foreign companies present request Beijing’s support to export products containing Chinese uncommon earths, and indispensable disclose their intended use. China said the heightened restrictions travel arsenic a effect of nationalist information interests.

China has a adjacent monopoly implicit uncommon earths, captious for the manufacture of exertion specified arsenic electrical cars, smartphones, semiconductors and weapons.

The US is simply a large user of Chinese uncommon earths, which are important for the US defence industry.

At the extremity of this month, Trump and Xi are expected to conscionable successful South Korea, and experts speculate that Beijing’s determination was to summation bargaining vantage successful commercialized negotiations with Washington.

China’s tightening of restrictions connected uncommon earths is “pre-meeting choreography” earlier Trump’s gathering with Xi, Kristin Vekasi, the Mansfield seat of Japan and Indo-Pacific Affairs astatine the University of Montana, told Al Jazeera.

How did Trump respond?

On October 10, Trump announced the imposition of a 100 percent tariff connected China, effectual from November 1.

“Based connected the information that China has taken this unprecedented presumption … the United States of America volition enforce a Tariff of 100 percent connected China, implicit and supra immoderate Tariff that they are presently paying,” Trump wrote successful a station connected his Truth Social platform.

He added that this would travel into effect connected November 1 oregon earlier that. Trump added that the US would besides enforce export controls connected “any and each captious software”.

Earlier connected October 10, Trump accused China of “trade hostility” and adjacent said helium mightiness scrap his gathering with Xi. It is unclear astatine this constituent whether the gathering volition instrumentality place.

“What the United States has is we person a batch of leverage, and my hope, and I cognize the president’s hope, is that we don’t person to usage that leverage,” US Vice President JD Vance told Fox News connected Sunday.

How did China respond to that?

China deemed the US retaliation a “double standard”, according to remarks by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson connected Sunday.

China said that Washington had “overstretched the conception of nationalist security, abused export power measures” and “adopted discriminatory practices against China”.

“We are surviving successful an epoch of deeper intertwining of information and economical policies. Both the US and China person expanded their conceptions of nationalist security, encompassing a scope of economical activities,” Manoj Kewalramani, chairperson of the Indo-Pacific Studies Programme astatine the Takshashila Institution successful Bangalore, India, told Al Jazeera.

“Both person besides weaponised economical interdependence with each different and 3rd parties. There are, successful different words, nary saints successful this game.”

Kewalramani said that China started expanding the thought of “national security” overmuch earlier than others, particularly with its “comprehensive nationalist information concept” introduced successful 2014.

Through this, China began to see galore antithetic areas, specified arsenic economics, technology, and society, nether the word “national security”. This shows that China was up of different countries successful broadening what counts arsenic a nationalist information issue.

China threatened further measures if Trump went up with his pledge.

“Willful threats of precocious tariffs are not the close mode to get on with China. China’s presumption connected the commercialized warfare is consistent: we bash not privation it, but we are not acrophobic of it,” the Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson said successful a statement.

“Should the US persist successful its course, China volition resolutely instrumentality corresponding measures to safeguard its morganatic rights and interests,” the connection said.

What commercialized measures has the US taken against China successful caller history?

2025: Trump unleashes tariff war

A period aft taking bureau for his 2nd term, Trump signed an enforcement bid imposing a 10 percent tariff connected each imports from China, citing a commercialized shortage successful favour of China. In this order, helium besides imposed tariffs connected Mexico and Canada. China levied countermeasures, imposing duties connected US products successful retaliation.

In March, the US president doubled the tariff connected each Chinese products to 20 percent arsenic of March 4. China imposed a 15 percent tariff connected a scope of US workplace exports successful retaliation; these took effect connected March 10.

Trump announced his “reciprocal tariffs,” imposing a 34 percent tariff connected Chinese products. China retaliated, besides announcing a 34 percent tariff connected US products. This was the archetypal clip China announced export controls connected uncommon earths.

Hours aft the reciprocal tariffs went into effect, Trump paused them for each his tariff targets but China. The US and China continued to hike tit-for-tat levies connected each other.

Trump slapped 145 percent tariffs connected Chinese imports, prompting China to deed backmost with 125 percent tariffs. Washington and Beijing aboriginal chopped tariffs to 30 percent and 10 percent, respectively, successful May, past agreed to a 90-day truce successful August for commercialized talks. The truce has been extended twice.

December 2024: The microchip controls are tightened

In December 2024, Trump’s predecessor, erstwhile US President Joe Biden, tightened controls connected the merchantability of microchips archetypal introduced connected October 2022.

Under the caller controls, 140 companies from China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore were added to a database of restricted entities. The US besides banned much precocious chip-making instrumentality to definite countries. Even products manufactured overseas with US exertion were restricted.

April 2024: Biden signs the TikTok ban

Biden signed a measure into instrumentality that would prohibition TikTok unless it was sold to a non-Chinese purchaser wrong a year. The US authorities alleged that TikTok’s Chinese genitor institution ByteDance was linked to the Chinese government, making the app a menace to nationalist security.

ByteDance sued the US national authorities implicit this measure successful May 2024.

In September this year, Trump announced that a woody was finalised to find a caller proprietor of TikTok.

October 2023: Biden introduces much restrictions connected chips

In October 2023, Biden restricted US exports of precocious machine chips, particularly those made by Nvidia, to China and different countries.

The extremity of this measurement was to bounds China’s entree to “advanced semiconductors that could substance breakthroughs successful artificial quality and blase computers that are captious to [Chinese] subject applications,” Gina Raimondo, who was caput of the US Department of Commerce during the Biden administration, told reporters.

Prior to this, Biden signed an enforcement bid successful August 2023, creating a programme that limits US investments successful definite high-tech areas, including semiconductors, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence, successful countries deemed to beryllium a information risk, similar China.

October 2022: Biden restricts Chinese entree to semiconductors

Biden restricted China’s entree to US semiconductors successful October 2022. The rules further expanded restrictions connected chipmaking tools to see industries that enactment the semiconductor proviso chain, blocking some entree to American expertise and the indispensable components utilized successful manufacturing the tools that nutrient microchips.

Semiconductors are utilized successful the manufacturing of artificial quality (AI) technologies. The US authorities placed these restrictions backmost past to bounds China’s quality to get the quality to nutrient semiconductors and beforehand successful the technological race.

The restrictions made it compulsory for entities wrong China to use for licences to get American semiconductors. Analysis by the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace described these licences arsenic “hard to get” backmost then.

Recently, immoderate US lawmakers are calling for adjacent much restrictions, informing that China could rapidly reverse-engineer precocious semiconductor technologies connected its own, outpace the US successful the sector, and summation a subject edge.

May 2020: Trump cracks down connected Huawei

In May 2020, the US Bureau of Industry and Security intensified rules to halt Huawei, the Chinese tech giant, from utilizing American exertion and bundle to plan and marque semiconductors successful different countries.

The caller rules said that semiconductors are designed for Huawei utilizing US exertion oregon equipment, anyplace successful the world, would request US authorities support earlier being sent to Huawei.

May 2019: Trump bans Huawei

Trump signed an enforcement bid blocking Chinese telecommunications companies similar Huawei from selling instrumentality successful the US. The Shenzhen-based Huawei is the world’s largest supplier of 5G networks, according to investigation by the New York City-based deliberation vessel the Council connected Foreign Relations (CFR).

Under this order, Huawei and 114 related entities were added to a database that requires US companies to get peculiar support (a licence) earlier selling definite technologies to them.

The rationale down this bid was the allegation that Huawei threatened US nationalist security, had stolen intelligence spot and could perpetrate cyber espionage. Some US lawmakers alleged that the Chinese authorities was utilizing Huawei to spy connected Americans. The US did not publicise immoderate grounds to backmost these allegations.

Other Western countries had besides cooperated with the US.

March 2018: Trump imposes tariffs connected China

During his archetypal administration, Trump imposed sweeping 25 percent tariffs connected Chinese goods worthy arsenic overmuch arsenic $60bn. In June of 2018, Trump announced much tariffs.

China retaliated by imposing tariffs connected US products. Beijing deemed Trump’s commercialized policies “trade bullyism practices”, according to an authoritative achromatic paper, arsenic reported by Xinhua quality agency.

In September 2018, Trump issued different circular of 10 percent tariffs connected Chinese products, which were hiked to 25 percent successful May 2019.

During the Obama medication (2009-2017)

In 2011, during US President Barack Obama’s tenure, the US-China commercialized shortage reached an all-time precocious of $295.5bn, up from $273.1bn successful the erstwhile year.

In March 2012, the US, European Union, and Japan formally complained to China astatine the World Trade Organization (WTO) astir China’s limits connected selling uncommon world metals to different countries. This determination was deemed “rash and unfair” by China.

In its ruling, the satellite commercialized assemblage said China’s export restraints were breaching the WTO rules.

In 2014, the US indicted 5 Chinese nationals with alleged ties to China’s People’s Liberation Army. They were charged with stealing commercialized exertion from American companies.

What’s adjacent for the US-China commercialized war?

Trump and Xi are expected to conscionable successful South Korea connected the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), which is acceptable to statesman connected October 31.

But the latest commercialized quality has clouded the Xi-Trump meeting.

On Sunday, Trump posted connected his Truth Social platform, downplaying the threat: “Don’t interest astir China, it volition each beryllium fine! Highly respected President Xi conscionable had a atrocious moment. He doesn’t privation Depression for his country, and neither bash I. The U.S.A. wants to assistance China, not wounded it!!!”

In an interrogation with Fox Business Network connected Monday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, “President Trump said that the tariffs would not spell into effect until November 1. He volition beryllium gathering with [Communist] Party Chair Xi successful [South] Korea. I judge that gathering volition inactive beryllium on.”

When it comes to which of the 2 players is much affected by the commercialized war, Kewalramani said that helium thinks “what matters is who is consenting to carnivore greater pain, endure greater cost”.

“This is the important question. I would wager that Beijing is astir apt amended placed due to the fact that Washington has alienated allies and partners with its policies since January. But then, China’s increasing export controls are not simply aimed astatine the US. They interaction each country. So Beijing has not besides endeared itself to anyone,” Kewalramani said, pointing retired however Trump’s tariffs and China’s uncommon world restrictions people aggregate countries.

“The ones affected the astir are countries caught successful the midst of large powerfulness competition.”

On Sunday, US VP Vance told Fox News astir China: “If they respond successful a highly assertive manner, I warrant you, the president of the United States has acold much cards than the People’s Republic of China.”

Kewalramani said that truthful far, Beijing has been much organised, prepared and strategical than the US successful its policies.

“That said, it has overreached with the latest circular of export controls. US policy, meanwhile, has lacked strategical coherence. The US inactive is the ascendant planetary powerfulness and has respective cards to play. What matters, however, is whether it tin get its location successful order.”