Trump Announces 100% Tariffs and Export Controls in Retaliation to China’s Port Fee Hike

Washington, Oct. 10, 2025 — Escalating tensions in the global trade arena, U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced a sweeping 100% tariff on all Chinese exports to the United States, alongside new export controls targeting “any and all critical software.” The move comes in direct response to China’s decision to impose additional port fees per voyage on U.S.-linked vessels.

In a statement on his Truth Social platform, President Trump accused Beijing of adopting “an extraordinarily aggressive position” by declaring its intent to enforce large-scale export controls on a wide range of products starting November 1, 2025.

“China has taken an extraordinarily aggressive position on trade, sending an extremely hostile letter to the world, stating that they will impose large-scale export controls on virtually every product they make — and some not even made by them. This affects all countries, without exception, and was clearly a plan devised years ago. It is absolutely unheard of in international trade and a moral disgrace in dealing with other nations,” Trump wrote.

Citing what he called “unprecedented hostility,” the President declared that, effective November 1, 2025 — or sooner, depending on any further actions from Beijing — the United States will implement a 100% tariff on all Chinese imports, in addition to existing tariffs. He further announced that export controls would simultaneously take effect on all forms of critical software.

Earlier in the day, Trump had warned of a “massive increase in tariffs” on Chinese goods, accusing Beijing of launching a “hostile trade offensive” by restricting exports of rare earth elements and other strategic materials essential to high-tech manufacturing.

The President also cast doubt over his planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the upcoming APEC summit in South Korea. “I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, but now there seems to be no reason to do so,” Trump remarked, adding that the meeting had not yet been cancelled but “remains uncertain.”

In a counter-response, Beijing announced that beginning Tuesday, vessels owned, operated, or built by U.S. entities — or flying the American flag — will be charged additional port fees per voyage.

China’s Ministry of Commerce condemned the U.S. actions as “clearly discriminatory,” stating that they “severely damage the legitimate interests of China’s shipping industry, disrupt global supply chain stability, and undermine the international economic and trade order.”

According to Reuters, the ministry described China’s measures as “justified self-defence,” intended to safeguard fairness and balance in global shipping and shipbuilding markets.

The escalating tit-for-tat measures mark a dramatic new phase in U.S.-China trade relations, with potential repercussions for global commerce and diplomatic ties between the world’s two largest economies.