US stock indexes tumble as Trump threatens higher China tariffs

Investing.com -- U.S. stock indexes plunged Friday morning as President Donald Trump threatened to impose higher tariffs on Chinese goods, citing hostile trade actions by China.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both fell approximately 1% after Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he would be "forced to financially counter" what he described as China’s hostile trade moves. "One of the Policies that we are calculating at this moment is a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States of America," Trump wrote.

Trump’s comments came in response to what he characterized as letters from China to countries worldwide threatening export controls on rare earth elements and other materials. He claimed China was attempting to "hold the World captive" through monopolistic control of critical resources.

Trump stated he had canceled plans to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the upcoming APEC summit in South Korea, saying "there seems to be no reason to do so" following these developments.

The timing of Trump’s announcement coincided with what he referred to as "PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST," suggesting the Chinese actions might have been deliberately timed to overshadow positive diplomatic developments elsewhere

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