Trump's trade battle with China in 2025

U.S. president Donald Trump has targeted China as his top economic rival with a cascade on tariffs that are worth billions of dollar. He is trying to reduce a trade surplus, bring back lost manufacturing and cripple fentanyl traffic.

In reverse chronological order, here are the key events of this year in U.S. China trade war:

November 24 - Chinese president Xi Jinping makes a surprise call to his U.S. counterpart, just weeks after their meeting in South Korea at the end of October.

Xi told Trump that their countries must maintain momentum and "enlarge the list for cooperation and reduce the list for problems."

Trump does not go into detail, but says that they also talked about fentanyl and soybeans. Trump wrote on Truth Social that they had also discussed fentanyl, soybeans and other farm products. He did not elaborate.

China has announced that it will continue to expand access to and investment opportunities for U.S. firms, especially in the services sector.

On November 10, China suspends for a full year the port fees it charges vessels with ties to the United States, as well sanctions imposed on U.S. affiliates in the South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean. This comes after Washington suspended its punitive actions resulting from Section 301 investigations of China's maritime and shipbuilding industries. China will adjust its list of drug precursor chemicals and require export licenses for certain chemicals going to the U.S. Sources say that the FBI director visited China to discuss law enforcement and fentanyl issues.

China lifts its ban on exports of gallium, antimony and germanium to the U.S.

China suspends the export controls it implemented on October 9. These include expanded restrictions on lithium battery materials, super-hard materials, and rare earths equipment and materials. Industry insiders claim that Beijing has begun to form a new licensing regime for rare earths, which could speed up shipments. China has announced that it will reinstate the soybean import licenses of three U.S. companies and lift its suspension on U.S. logging imports beginning November 10.

China starts modest purchases of U.S. agricultural products on November 6, including two cargoes each of wheat and sorghum. An agriculture business association reports that China's COFCO held a signing ceremony for soybean purchases.

November 5 - Beijing will suspend retaliatory duties on U.S. Imports starting November 10, including farm products duties up to 15%. However, it will keep levies at 10% in response to Trump's "Liberation Day tariffs". Imports from the United States still face a 13% tariff, but China will ease its measures against U.S. entities and drop some curbs on optical fibres.

After talks between Trump and Xi in South Korea, the United States and China reach a new trade truce on October 30. Trump agrees on a reduction in tariffs as a result of Beijing's crackdown on the illicit fentanyl market, and resuming U.S. purchases of soybeans. Beijing claims that the United States has also promised a one-year delay on plans to ban Chinese firms from using its technology.

The two leaders will decide the framework of a trade agreement after Scott Bessent, Treasury Secretary and Jamieson Greer met with He Lifeng, Vice Premier and chief trade negotiator in China.

The U.S. State Department describes Chinese sanctions against the Hanwha Ocean as "coercion", thereby undermining relations between Washington and Seoul.

Greer and Bessent criticize China's increased rare earth export controls, citing them as a threat to global supply chain. Bessent promises to tighten up control over strategic sectors in order to combat China. Apple CEO Tim Cook pledges China investment boost.

On October 14, both nations start collecting port fees on each other's vessels. China, however, exempts the ships that it has built. Five Hanwha Ocean units with ties to the United States are sanctioned as threats against its security and sovereignty.

Bessent confirms that plans for the Trump-Xi meeting are still on track.

Trump announces new levies on China imports, including 100% additional duties. He also introduces export controls for "any critical software" starting November 1. In response to China's restrictions on rare earth exports, Trump threatens to impose export controls on Boeing parts.

Trump does not cancel his plans to meet Xi but says there is no need. China opens antitrust investigation against U.S. Qualcomm for the purchase of Israeli chip designer Autotalks. China will start charging port fees to U.S.-linked vessels from October 14 in response the similar U.S. charges on China-linked vessels.

China tightens its grip on minerals critical to the world economy. The United States is planning to prohibit Chinese airlines from flying above Russia on U.S. routes. This would be detrimental to U.S. carriers.

Trump declares that the major topic of discussion at Xi's meeting will be soybeans. He calls China's sharply decreased U.S. purchases as a tactic in negotiations.

Greer, September 30: Tariffs of around 55% on Chinese imports is a "good status quo", but the United States wants freer trade.

Bessent: Chemicals, aircraft engines and components offer U.S. leverage in China negotiations.

Visitor U.S. legislators tell Premier Li Qiang to increase engagement between China and the United States.

Trump and Xi have a telephone conversation on September 19, during which Trump claims they made progress in a TikTok pact, and that they agreed to meet face to face to discuss illicit drugs, trade and the Ukraine War. China welcomes TikTok commercial talks.

September 15 – Both sides reach agreement on a framework to transfer TikTok under U.S. control. The U.S. has pledged to refrain from imposing more tariffs against Chinese products over Russian oil imports, unless European levies are first imposed.

September 14th - Bessent, China's He, and Bessent, Spain, discuss the trade and TikTok divestiture by September 17th.

Both nations extend the tariff truce by 90 days on August 11.

August 10 - As the trade truce expires on August 12, Trump urges China quadruple U.S. soya purchases.

As part of the talks on rare Earths, the United States lifts its April ban and starts issuing Nvidia licenses for exports to China of advanced AI H20 chip technology.

After two days of discussions in Stockholm, U.S. officials and Chinese officials agreed to extend the 90-day truce on tariffs. However, they did not make any major breakthroughs.

Bessent: Both sides have resolved issues regarding rare earth minerals and magnetics bound for the United States.

June 9-12: Framework agreement reached at London round of negotiations, and some Chinese rare earths producers start to receive export licenses. Trump claims that a trade truce has been re-established.

June 5, Xi and Trump have a telephone conversation lasting an hour.

Trump claims that China has violated the Geneva agreement to roll back tariffs, and relax restrictions on exports of critical minerals. China denies this and accuses the U.S. instead of "discriminatory restrictive curbs".

May 28-29, United States threatens Chinese students with revocation of visas while ordering certain companies to stop shipping goods to China.

May 10-12: First round of trade negotiations in Geneva agrees on 90-day pause for tariffs. U.S. tariffs are reduced to 30% from 145% on Chinese goods, while China reduces tariffs to 10%. China will also cancel non-tariffs measures taken since April 2.

Nvidia, a chipmaker, says U.S. officials informed it that China sales of H20 chips would require an export license.

China raises its tariffs on U.S. goods to 125%, calling Trump's strategy "a joke", and indicating that it will ignore further U.S. "numbers games with tariffs".

China imposes controls on exports of dual use items to 12 U.S. firms and designates another six as "unreliable" entities.

The United States has increased tariffs on Chinese imports from 84% to 125%. China warns its citizens to avoid U.S. travel.

Tariffs on Chinese imports are raised to 84% from 34% by the United States on April 8.

April 4: China imposes retaliatory duties of 34% on all U.S. imports starting April 10, and limits exports for some rare earths.

Trump announces tariffs of 10% on all imports, and higher rates on some goods, including a 34% levy on China starting April 9.

From May 2, the U.S. will no longer allow low-value shipments of goods from China and Hong Kong to be duty-free.

March 3-4, 2019 - From March 4, 2019, the United States will double its fentanyl tariffs to 20% on all Chinese imports. China retaliates with 10% to 15% tariffs on U.S. agricultural exports and $21 billion of exports. It also clamps export and investment restrictions on 25 U.S. companies.

China responds to the U.S. business with measures that target U.S. companies, including 15% tariffs on U.S. LNG and coal, and 10% on crude oil as well as some autos starting February 10. China responds with measures targeting U.S. businesses, as well as 15% levies on US coal and LNG from February 4, and 10% for crude oil and some autos starting February 10.

Trump imposes a 10% penalty duty on China's goods, along with a 25% tax on Mexico and Canada to pressure the United States into curbing the flow of illegal immigrants and fentanyl.

(source: Reuters)