Trade tensions between Washington and Beijing could rise further as the US plans its next move against China following the threat of 155% tariffs.The Trump administration is reportedly preparing a response to China’s recent rare earth export restrictions by restricting shipments of U.S. software products to Beijing, a U.S. official told Reuters. The proposed measures could cover a wide range of products, from laptops to jet engines.The curbs are aimed at enforcing US President Donald Trump’s social media warning on October 10, in which he announced plans to impose new 100% tariffs on Chinese shipments to the US by November 1 and implement export controls on “all critical software”. Details about how the measures would be applied are not yet clear.Officials stressed that the proposal may not be implemented, but its consideration signals a possible intensification of trade tensions with China. “Everything you can imagine is made with American software,” said one source, highlighting the far-reaching nature of the possible controls.The plan would target the global shipment of products that either contain U.S. software or are produced using U.S. technology, following export restrictions imposed on Russia by the Biden administration after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Analysts warn that the controls, if fully implemented, could disrupt trade with China and impose economic costs on the U.S.A Chinese embassy spokesperson refrained from commenting on the US measures, but stated that China opposes “unilateral long-armed jurisdictional measures” and would “take decisive measures to protect its legitimate rights and interests” if the US went ahead, Reuters reported.Trump’s announcement came just three weeks before a previously scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, and a day after China expanded its export controls on rare earth metals, which are critical to technology production. The US president described the Chinese move as “a moral disgrace” and warned that it would affect “virtually every product they make.”The government is reportedly considering announcing the measures to exert pressure without putting them into effect immediately. Smaller and more limited proposals are also discussed, amid debate over how far they should escalate.Trump’s position on export restrictions has fluctuated during his presidency. Although he initially imposed strict restrictions on Nvidia’s AI chips and chip design software exports to China, some measures were later lifted. Last month, China criticized a Trump administration rule that limits shipments from U.S. companies to companies that are at least 50% owned by sanctioned Chinese entities.
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