US President Donald Trump has said that a 100% tariff on Chinese imports “cannot be sustained”, though he continued to blame Beijing for the deadlock in trade negotiations, which began after China tightened its controls on rare earth exports.
When asked whether the tariffs were sustainable and how they might affect the economy, Trump replied, “Not sustainable, but that’s the number we set.”
“They forced me to do it,” Trump said in an interview with Fox Business Network broadcast on Friday.
Last week, Trump announced additional 100% tariffs on Chinese exports to the United States, alongside new restrictions on all key software exports. The measures will take effect on November 1, just nine days before the current tariff exemptions expire. The move was seen as a US retaliation against China’s significant expansion of export controls on rare earth minerals, a critical input for high-tech manufacturing in which China dominates global supply.