China sanctioned US units of a South Korean shipping company on Tuesday, and Beijing has promised retaliatory measures on the industry in the latest tit-for-tat move over trade and tariffs.

The sanctions target five US units of Hanwha Ocean Co., helping fuel a global slump in equities as traders grow concerned over the escalating tensions between the US and China.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent slammed China saying: “This is a sign of how weak their economy is, and they want to pull everybody else down with them.”

President Trump later Tuesday said on Truth Social that he believes China is "purposefully not buying our Soybeans" and considers it an "Economically Hostile Act." The president added that his administration is considering curtailing trade with the country as "retribution," such as by blocking cooking oil imports.

The latest escalation came after Wall Street had breathed a sigh of relief on Monday as Trump hinted at a possible deescalation.

“Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesn’t want Depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!!” he wrote on Truth Social.

US-China tensions ratcheted up in earnest last week, when Trump said the US would impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods starting on Nov. 1 over Beijing's plan to impose new exort controls on rare earth minerals.

In addition to the mineral curbs, China has also slapped new port fees on US ships and launched an antitrust investigation into US-based Qualcomm (QCOM). Beijing has also halted purchases of US soybeans, scrambling business plans for US farmers.

Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet

US tariffs on China of nearly 145% in some cases are on hold until Nov. 10 while the two countries negotiate a larger trade deal. Chinese tariffs on US goods ballooned to 125% before the pause.

Here's what else to know on Trump's tariffs:

Americans are set to pay more than half of President Trump's tariffs as companies raise prices, according to Goldman Sachs. Americans will likely bear the brunt of 55% of tariff costs by the end of the year, with US companies taking on 22%.

Early next month, the US Supreme Court is set to hear a challenge to Trump's most sweeping tariffs — the "reciprocal" country-by-country duties that you can see in the graphic above. A ruling against the tariffs — which would be in line with lower-court decisions — could have significant ramifications for Trump's tariff strategy.

New duties on kitchen cabinets and vanities took effect Oct. 1.

Tariffs on timber and certain wood products (like furniture) took effect Oct. 14.

President Trump threatened to institute new trade restrictions on China in the latest escalation between the two countries.

\\"I believe that China [is] purposefully not buying our Soybeans,\\" the president wrote on Truth Social, saying he considers it \\"an Economically Hostile Act.\\"

Trump added that his administration is considering curtailing trade with China as \\"retribution,\\" such as by targeting purchases of cooking oil from the country.

The impact of President Trump's tariffs is expected to weigh on economic growth worldwide in 2025, according to the International Monetary Fund's new World Economic Outlook released Tuesday.

\\"The outlook for the global economy continues to point to dim prospects, both in the short and the long term,\\" according to the IMF report.

Global growth is projected to decelerate to 3.2% this year from 3.3% in 2024 and skid further to 3.1% in 2026.

That growth forecast, little changed from the IMF's estimates in July, reflects gradual adaptation to trade tensions. Growth is expected to be much lower than the pre-pandemic average of 3.7%.

And the IMF predicts much of the bite from tariffs could be yet to come. While the impact on rewiring of supply chains and inflation has been muted so far, the IMF said that may reflect a delay in higher prices and costs being passed through.

Very little of what would be expected to pass through to consumer prices has actually done so thus far, according to the IMF's examination of certain goods. Household appliances, for instance, have reflected the cost of tariffs, but many categories, including food and clothing, have not, according to the IMF.

And companies may not be able to absorb higher tariff costs, as the US dollar has weakened with the onset of tariffs.

Read more here.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent did not mince his words in an interview with the Financial Times on Monday. Bessent said that China is trying to \\"bring everyone else down with them.\\" Bessent's comments follow a series of back-and-forth moves between Washington and Beijing, which began when China imposed export restrictions on rare earths.

President Trump followed by threatening an additional 100% tariffs on China last Friday. But the US president appeared to change tack over the weekend, hinting at deescalation.

The FT reports:

Bessent told the FT that China’s introduction of the controls — three weeks before US President Donald Trump is expected to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea — reflected problems in its own economy.

“This is a sign of how weak their economy is, and they want to pull everybody else down with them,” Bessent said on Monday.

“Maybe there is some Leninist business model where hurting your customers is a good idea, but they are the largest supplier to the world,” he added. “If they want to slow down the global economy, they will be hurt the most.”

Bessent added: “They are in the middle of a recession/depression, and they are trying to export their way out of it. The problem is they’re exacerbating their standing in the world.”

The US Treasury secretary spoke to the FT days after China unveiled expansive restrictions on rare earths and critical minerals supplies, prompting Trump to threaten an additional 100 per cent tariff on imports from China from November 1.

In the US, futures tracking the S&P 500 (^GSPC) were down 0.9 per cent on Tuesday while those for the Nasdaq were 1.1 per cent lower. Global markets have whipsawed in recent days after the flare-up between the US and China reignited fears of a return to the global trade war that rocked markets earlier this year.

One person familiar with the situation said the US had drafted countermeasures it would take if the two sides did not reach agreement. The person said the US would prioritise the issue when G7 ministers met in Washington this week for World Bank-IMF meetings.

Read more here.

Ericsson's (ERIC) shares surged by 14% on Tuesday after the Swedish telecommunications company beat forecasts for its quarterly earnings growth and also shrugged off US tariffs.

Reuters reports:

The Swedish group has outperformed rivals in winning U.S. contracts, mainly a $14 billion deal with AT&T, making it the world's second-biggest vendor in the radio access network market after China's Huawei, according to research firm Dell'Oro.

\\"No company is immune to tariffs. So we will see what happens there and what decisions are coming. But what we see so far is no more impact going forward,\\" Ericsson's finance chief Lars Sandström said in a Reuters interview.

Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) excluding restructuring charges were 15.4 billion Swedish crowns ($1.62 billion) in the quarter through September. That was 9.2% higher than the 14.1 billion crowns forecast in an Infront consensus poll of analysts provided by the company.

However, sales in Americas slowed by 8% from 2024, when there was a robust quarter due to previous deliveries and network investments by large customers.

It also announced a five-year partnership with Vodafone to modernize programmable networks but didn't disclose details.

In August, Ericsson completed the sale of its Iconectiv business, yielding a one-off profit gain of about 7.6 billion Swedish crowns and offering it scope for higher dividends and or a share buyback program.

Read more here.

China signaled on Tuesday that it intends to keep communications channels with the US open after a series of back-and-forth moves between Washington and Beijing intensified relations between the world's biggest economies.

China's Ministry of Commerce said \\"the door is open\\" in reference to talks between the two sides. However, Beijing also defended its decision to impose export restrictions on rare earths amid escalating trade tensions in recent weeks.

Reuters reports:

Separately, Vice Finance Minister Liao Min, a key member of Beijing’s trade negotiating team who’s in Washington this week, has held a meeting with his counterpart at the US Treasury, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Liao is attending the annual gathering of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank and is expected to have further discussions with the US official later in the week, the person said, asking to remain anonymous because the talks weren’t public.

“Both sides have been in communications all along under the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism and we had a working-level meeting just yesterday,” an unnamed spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.

The remarks came just hours after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Beijing had failed to respond to US inquiries over the weekend following China’s announcement of export controls on products containing traces of certain rare earths. It marked China’s first major attempt to exercise long-arm jurisdiction over foreign companies that target the chip industry.

Read more here.

The latest trade tensions between the US and China has rattled markets. Here's a list of all the assets affected by the latest tariff turmoil.

Currencies: The dollar (DX=F) fluctuated on Tuesday following China's response to the US on tariffs. Risk sentiment fell as investors moved towards traditional safe havens such as the yen and Swiss franc.

Crypto: Cryptocurrencies bitcoin (BTC-USD) and ether (ETH-USD) continued to fall on Tuesday. Bitcoin dropped almost 3% to $111,950, while ether slumped 4%, falling below $4,000. The crypto market shed $150 billion amid the bubbling in US-China trade tensions.

Oil: Brent crude futures (BZ=F) fell 2% to $61.93 and US West Texas Intermediate crude (CL=F) also dropped 2% to $58.15 at 08:58 GMT, reversing earlier gains amid uncertainty around US-China trade relations.

China has responded to the US by sanctioning five US units of Hanwha Ocean Co. The move fueled a fall in global equities on Tuesday as concerns on rising trade tensions between the world's largest economies grew among investors. Hanwha Ocean's (042660.KS) stock dropped 8%, while shares of Chinese shipbuilders rose.

Bloomberg News reports:

The sanctions, targeting five US units of Hanwha Ocean Co., fueled a slump in global equities on Tuesday as traders dialed back hopes for an easing of tensions between the world’s largest economies. Hanwha Ocean’s stock sank as much as 8%, while shares of Chinese shipbuilders rallied.

China’s moves escalate a long-standing dispute with the US over maritime dominance. Both sides have already slapped special port fees on each other’s vessels, while the US has rallied allies — especially South Korea — to help it revive a moribund American shipbuilding industry.

Shipping, which facilitates about 80% of global trade, is just one point of contention in the China-US relationship that has kept global investors on edge in recent days. Beijing has tightened export controls on rare earths among other measures, while the US has expanded curbs on China’s access to chips and threatened the country with additional 100% tariffs.

Read more here.

A new analysis from Goldman Sachs on Sunday suggested that US consumers will ultimately pay for more than half of the cost of tariffs.

The firm predicted that by year-end, 55% of the costs of the Trump administration's tariffs will be paid by consumers, 18% will be paid by foreign exporters, and 5% will be evaded.

Unlike in 2019, the entirety of tariffs hasn't been passed along to consumers yet, since \\"companies might be waiting longer this time\\" before raising prices to see if tariffs will remain in place amid legal challenges, the Goldman research team wrote. Companies may have also stockpiled inventory before the tariffs took effect to limit the impact.

\\"[Companies] have been absorbing the cost [of] the higher prices, and the way they absorb those higher prices is ... by being incredibly efficient,\\" National Retail Federation chief economist Mark Matthews told Yahoo Finance. \\"You can't be incredibly efficient forever, ... eventually it will have to turn into job cuts and wage reductions, and that's where the economy gets hurt.\\"

On Friday, US markets sold off after Trump posted on Truth Social that the US would impose an additional 100% tariff rate on China in response to the country's rare earth export controls. Trump backtracked somewhat on Sunday, sending all three major indexes higher on Monday.

Goldman said, \\"We are not assuming any changes to tariff rates on imports from China, but events in recent days suggest large risks.\\"

Canadian foreign minister Anita Anand is traveling to New Delhi, Mumbai, Singapore, and Hangzhou, China, this week as the country seeks to strengthen ties with China and India to boost trade and investment.

Anand's trip also comes as trade talks with the Trump administration remain fragile.

Bloomberg reports:

Her task is hard and extremely delicate: Canada’s disputes with Asia’s two most populous countries are serious, and any steps to ease tensions with China will need to be taken carefully to avoid triggering a reprisal from US President Donald Trump.

But Anand argues Canada is taking the same approach with every country — putting the interests of its workers and businesses first. It’s a clear shift under Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has prioritized the economy above all else, scrapping many of the tenets of Justin Trudeau’s foreign policy.

“It goes back to being a sovereign country,” Anand said in an interview with Bloomberg News, when asked how Canada can balance its relationships with China and the US.

Read more here.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking to Fox Business on Monday, said that he still expects President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to meet. He also noted that all options are on the table for retaliating against China's export controls on rare earths.

“He will be meeting with party chair Xi in Korea — I believe that meeting will still be on,” Bessent said, adding that there had been “substantial communication” over the weekend.

Trump threatened to cancel the meeting with Xi on Friday in a post where he also announced plans to impose additional tariffs of 100%, starting Nov. 1.

“This is China versus the world — they have pointed a bazooka at the supply chains and the industrial base of the entire free world, and we’re not going to have it,” Bessent said.

Read more here from Bloomberg.

Bloomberg News reports:

Americans are set to pay more than half of President Donald Trump’s tariff costs as companies raise prices, according to economists of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS).

US consumers will likely shoulder 55% of tariff costs by the end of the year, with American companies taking on 22%, the Goldman analysts wrote in an Oct. 12 research note to clients. Foreign exporters would absorb 18% of tariff costs by cutting prices for goods, while 5% would be evaded, they wrote.

For now “US businesses are likely bearing a larger share of the costs” as it takes time to raise prices, economists Elsie Peng and David Mericle wrote in the note. “If recently implemented and future tariffs have the same eventual impact on prices as the tariffs implemented earlier this year, then US consumers would eventually absorb 55% of tariff costs.”

US levies have raised core personal consumption expenditure prices by 0.44% so far this year, and will push up the closely watched inflation reading to 3% by December, they wrote.

Read more here.

China has warned the US to back off with tariff threats and said it will retaliate with higher tariffs. Beijing has already started to fight back with restrictions on the export of batteries. China has also urged for negotiations between Washington and the US to continue.

Bloomberg News reports:

President Donald Trump on Friday announced an additional 100% tariff on China as well as export controls on “any and all critical software” beginning Nov. 1, hours after threatening to cancel an upcoming meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. That came after China added new port fees on US ships, started an antitrust investigation into Qualcomm Inc., and unveiled sweeping new curbs on its exports of rare earths and other critical materials.

Beijing justified its moves as defensive actions and accused the US of introducing new restrictive measures targeting China since talks between the two in Madrid in September, according to a Ministry of Commerce statement on Sunday. Last month, the US Commerce Department unveiled a dramatic expansion of its export controls, which closed loopholes in current measures to block Beijing from cutting-edge chips.

“Threatening with high tariffs at every turn is not the right way to get along with China,” the Commerce Ministry said. “If the US persists in its own course, China will resolutely take corresponding measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.”

Last week Beijing unveiled broad new curbs on its exports of rare earths and other critical materials. Overseas exporters of items that use even traces of certain rare earths sourced from China will now need an export license, it announced Thursday, citing national security grounds. Certain equipment and technology for processing rare earths and making magnets will also be subject to controls.

Read more here.

Bloomberg News reports:

China’s newly announced raft of restrictions on the export of batteries could have major impacts on US companies, analysts say.

Beijing has previously used rare earths as a tool in the trade war with Washington. But with its commanding position in the battery industry, China has identified another point of leverage in trade talks as the US increasingly needs energy storage to support data centers and stabilize the grid.

The restrictions, which take effect Nov. 8, span a wide swath of the battery supply chain. They include large-scale lithium-ion batteries used for energy storage as well as cathode and anode materials and battery manufacturing machinery, all technologies where China has a robust lead.

As with past restrictions, the new rules require battery companies to receive licenses from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce before exporting their goods. That system allows Beijing to selectively weaponize exports.

Read more here.

President Trump and Vice President JD Vance looked to deescalate rising trade tensions between the US and China on Sunday, following Trump's 100% tariff threat on Chinese exports last week.

The US-China trade war has rekindled after China placed more restrictions on its rare earth exports and said it would investigate US chipmaker Qualcomm (QCOM). Beijing has also announced a crackdown on Nvidia (NVDA) chips. This may have stirred up the Trump administration, which responded on Friday by saying it would place an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods from Nov. 1.

Bloomberg News reports:

President Trump posted a statement on Sunday that hinted at a possible de-escalation of trade tensions between the US and China, while at the same time issuing a veiled threat to China's President Xi Jinping.

“Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesn’t want Depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!!” he wrote on Truth Social.

Trump's comments followed Vice President JD Vance who called on Beijing to \\"choose the path of reason\\" as trade tensions escalate.

The Trump administration now appear to be sending a message of openness to China in a bid to squash rising trade tensions between the two nations.

Trump ratcheted up tariff and trade tensions with Beijing on Friday. In a post on Truth Social, the president said the US would impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods starting on Nov. 1, 2025.

The president said the move was prompted by China taking an \\"extraordinarily aggressive\\" position on trade by announcing new export controls that would take effect next month. Trump claimed the curbs affect more countries than just the US, calling them a \\"moral disgrace in dealing with other nations.\\"

Read more here.

China stocks felt the full force of President Trump's tariff threats with equities falling and bond futures climbing, as investors remained concerned over rising trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, despite Trump's Truth Social post signaling a deescalation of the trade war.

Bloomberg News reports:

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index hsce (^HSCE) fell as much as 3.6% before paring its drop to around 2%. Tech heavyweights Xiaomi Corp. (XIACF) and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA, 9988.HK) were among the biggest drags. The CSI 300 (930748.SS) Index, a benchmark for mainland shares, closed down 0.5%. The People’s Bank of China boosted its daily reference rate to the strongest since November in a bid to keep the yuan steady.

The setback follows a sharp rally in Chinese equities this year, as investors shrugged off trade frictions and bought into the country’s tech prowess and Beijing’s ability to support the economy. Trump’s threat late last week to slap an additional 100% tariffs on Chinese goods, in response to Beijing’s export controls on critical minerals, served as a stark reminder of the fragility of any trade truce.

The decline was milder than the 6.1% slump in the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index on Friday. Some investors appear to be using the selloff to buy the dip, expecting the worst to be avoided following signals from the White House that it’s open to a deal.

“Markets should brace for near-term volatility from the tariff headlines, but China’s diversified export base and swift policy response mean the broader impact on the economy and markets is contained,” said Dilin Wu, a strategist at Pepperstone Group. “Traders may see this as a short-term shock rather than a structural threat.”

Read more here.

Bloomberg reports:

Chinese President Xi Jinping has drawn a clear red line in a bid to stem new US exports controls, threatening to reignite a tit-for-tat trade spiral with Donald Trump just weeks before a planned meeting between the leaders of the world’s biggest economies.

After China unveiled wide-ranging global export controls on products containing even traces of certain rare earths this past week, Trump fired back by threatening to cancel a planned in-person meeting with Xi — their first in six years. The US leader also announced plans to double tariffs on Chinese goods to 100%, along with sweeping curbs on “any and all critical software.”

On Sunday, Beijing justified its moves as defensive actions and accused the US of introducing new restrictive measures targeting China since talks between the two in Madrid in September. Last month, the US Commerce Department unveiled a dramatic expansion of its export controls, which closed loopholes in current measures to block Beijing from cutting-edge chips.

“Willful threats of high tariffs are not the right way to get along with China,” the Commerce Ministry said. “China’s position on the trade war is consistent: we do not want it, but we are not afraid of it.”

Read more here.

The impact of President Trump's latest tariff threat was felt across economic sectors Friday, including recently soaring crypto markets, Bloomberg reports:

Crypto market traders were hit by record liquidations just days after Bitcoin touched an all-time high, volatility triggered in large part by the latest round of tariffs from US President Donald Trump.

Cryptocurrency prices tumbled on Friday after Trump said he would impose an additional 100% tariff on China and export controls on software. The declines precipitated, and then were made worse by what data tracker Coinglass described as “the largest liquidation event in crypto history.”

While market weakness had already been present coming into Friday, Trump’s post sparked a decline of more than 12% in Bitcoin. The largest token, which had earlier this week reached a record of more than $125,000, was hovering below $113,000 as of Saturday morning in London.

Read more here

President Trump followed through on a threat to sharply increase tariffs on Chinese goods on Friday afternoon, stating that the US will impose a hefty 100% tariff on China starting Nov. 1, which will be added on top of other existing tariffs.

In a social media post, Trump cited a letter China sent to other nations regarding export controls, which he said marked \\"extraordinarily aggressive position on Trade.\\"

\\"Based on the fact that China has taken this unprecedented position, and speaking only for the U.S.A., and not other Nations who were similarly threatened, starting November 1st, 2025 (or sooner, depending on any further actions or changes taken by China), the United States of America will impose a Tariff of 100% on China, over and above any Tariff that they are currently paying,\\" Trump posted on Truth Social. \\"Also on November 1st, we will impose Export Controls on any and all critical software.\\"

Tariff jitters returned to Wall Street in a big way on Friday.

The Dow (^DJI) fell almost 900 points. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) lost 2.7%, and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) sank over 3.5% in their worst days since April. The moves came after President Trump renewed his tariff threats against China, specifically warning of a \\"massive increase\\" in duties.

The moves downward Friday cemented significant weekly losses, and it wiped out stock gains in October so far. The major indexes haven't had a down month since May.

You can catch up on the day's action in our markets live blog.

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) announced on Friday that it is launching an investigation into Qualcomm’s (QCOM) June acquisition of Autotalks, pulling the chip company into a growing number of firms ensnared in the ongoing economic tit-for-tat between the US and China.

In a statement, SAMR said Qualcomm’s acquisition is suspected of violating the country’s anti-monopoly laws, though it didn’t provide any further details on what element of the deal broke monopoly laws or how.

In a statement, a Qualcomm spokesperson said, “We are fully cooperating with SAMR in this matter. Qualcomm is committed to supporting the development and growth of our customers and partners.”

The announcement comes the same day President Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that the Chinese government is seeking to tighten its control over rare earth minerals. Trump went on to threaten a “massive increase” in tariffs on Chinese goods.

Read more here.