Donald Trump has threatened a “massive” increase in tariffs as he signalled a resumption of the US’s costly trade war with China.
Stocks on Wall Street tumbled on Friday after the US President said he would cancel his upcoming meeting with President Xi Jinping amid a row over rare earth minerals.
Mr Trump accused Beijing of holding the world to ransom by announcing fresh restrictions on exports of the materials, which are essential for the production of semiconductors and crucial modern technology.
He said on Truth Social: “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.
“There are many other countermeasures that are, likewise, under serious consideration.”
The US benchmark S&P 500 dropped by 2pc in the wake of the comments, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped by 1.4pc and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell by as much as 2.8pc.