Will US slap China with 500% tariffs if Donald Trump-Xi Jinping talks fail?
The United States could impose tariffs of up to 500 percent on China over rare earth limits and Russian oil, risking turmoil in global trade. All eyes turned to the Donald Trump-Xi Jinping meeting at the APEC summit.
US President Donald Trump is likely to meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit. (File Image)
The United States, disturbed by China’s refusal to provide unlimited access to rare earth elements, is preparing to punish Beijing by imposing tariffs of up to 500 percent. Back-channel talks between the two countries continue; Donald Trump will likely meet Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum meeting in South Korea on October 31. However, Washington is also preparing to impose additional and draconian tariffs to teach China a lesson. Across party lines, 85 U.S. senators could introduce a proposal that would allow President Donald Trump to impose tariffs of up to 500% on China in exchange for its purchase of Russian oil.
Will the USA impose 500 percent tariffs on China?
Talking about the plan to punish China, US Treasury Secretary Bessent said on Wednesday: “85 US senators are ready to authorize President Trump to impose tariffs of up to 500% on China for the purchase of Russian oil.” If implemented, these US tariffs could cause an unprecedented storm in global trade, disrupting the international supply chain like never before and setting international crude prices on fire. China could retaliate and all global trade could collapse, hurting the United States in unprecedented ways.
(China is the largest buyer of Russian oil.)
Russia’s oil sanctions
If so, this could be a tactical shift in US policy. Previously, the Donald Trump administration had imposed an additional 25 percent tariff on India for purchasing Russian oil, but refused to do the same to China. He argued that India was profiteering while China was buying Russian oil for its own domestic consumption. Bessant also said the United States would impose secondary tariffs on China only after European Union member states do the same. But “China’s purchase of Russian oil is what fuels the Russian war machines. China buys 60% of Russian energy, that is, six-zero percent. Iran buys 90% of its energy,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
(China is the largest producer of rare earth minerals.)
US-China trade war
As for the real issue, Bessant said higher U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods could be delayed if Beijing delays its plan to tighten borders on critical rare earth exports. Referring to the ongoing talks between the world’s biggest trading partners, he said, “Is it possible that we could go to a longer roll in return? Perhaps. But all that’s going to be negotiated in the coming weeks.” It has gone so far as to make it a “China versus the world” contest, trying to impress India, where the US imposes a cumulative 50 percent tariff. “This is China against the world. They’ve pointed the bazooka at the supply chains and the industrial base of the entire free world,” he said.
