Trump doubles down on tariffs, plans 155% on Chinese goods starting November 1

US President Donald Trump reaffirmed on Tuesday (October 21) that the US will proceed with imposing a staggering 155% tariff on Chinese imports starting November 1. This decision comes despite Trump's desire to maintain cordial relations with Beijing. In a response to a query from news agency ANI about tariffs on China due to its continued oil trade with Russia, Trump said, "Starting November 1, China will face a 155% tariff, and I don’t think it will be sustainable for them."

Although Trump expressed a personal wish for friendly relations with China, he pointed out that years of unfavourable economic deals have forced the US to adopt a stronger stance. “I want to be friendly with China, but they’ve been very aggressive in trade, and past US leaders allowed them to take advantage of us," he said.

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Trump highlighted that his previous trade agreements with the European Union, Japan, and South Korea, which involved tariffs, were crucial for ‘national security’. He emphasised that these deals had generated billions in revenue for the US, which could now be used to reduce the national debt. This move represents a broader strategy of ‘secondary tariffs’ against countries indirectly supporting Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, through their energy ties.

While similar measures targeted India’s Russian oil imports, the new tariffs indicate a shift toward China, the largest importer of Russian crude. Additionally, in a post on Truth Social, Trump revealed plans for a further 100% tariff on Chinese goods, to be added on top of existing tariffs, starting November 1. He described this as a response to China's ‘extraordinarily aggressive’ trade actions and their ‘hostile’ letter to the world. Furthermore, Trump announced that the US will impose export controls on critical software from the same date. The president claimed that China’s stance was a deliberate plan devised over years and described it as a breach of international trade norms.