Washington DC: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) reaffirmed that Washington will move forward with its plan to impose a 155% tariff on Chinese imports starting November 1, despite emphasizing his wish to maintain friendly relations with Beijing.
When asked whether the tariffs were linked to China’s role as Russia’s largest oil importer, Trump said, “Right now, as of November 1st, China will have about 155 per cent tariffs put on it. I don’t think it’s sustainable for them.”
Trump added that while he personally seeks “to be nice to China,” years of what he described as unfair trade practices have forced the US to act decisively.
“China has been very rough with us over the years because we had presidents that weren’t smart from a business standpoint… They allowed China and every other country to take advantage of us,” he said.
The US President highlighted that his earlier trade deals with the European Union, Japan, and South Korea were secured through tariffs, which he framed as tools of “national security.”
“I made deals with the EU, Japan, and South Korea. A lot of these deals are great deals — it’s about national security. We’re getting hundreds of billions, even trillions, of dollars paid into the United States… We’ll start paying off debt,” Trump stated.
The new tariffs are part of what analysts describe as Washington’s expanding “secondary tariff” strategy, targeting nations seen as indirectly supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine through energy trade. While previous actions focused on India, where a 50% tariff was applied on Russian oil imports, the latest move signals a broader escalation against China, the world’s largest buyer of Russian crude.
Earlier, Trump announced on Truth Social an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods “over and above any tariff they are currently paying,” also effective November 1. He said the decision followed what he called an “extraordinarily aggressive” move by China, accusing Beijing of sending “an extremely hostile letter to the world.”
“Starting November 1, 2025 (or sooner, depending on any further actions by China), the United States will impose a 100% tariff on China, over and above current rates,” Trump wrote. “Also on November 1, we will impose export controls on all critical software.”
He alleged that China planned to enforce sweeping export restrictions on nearly all products — including some it does not produce — calling it “a moral disgrace in international trade.”
“It is absolutely unheard of in international trade and a moral disgrace in dealing with other nations,” Trump added.
