US President Trump Confirms Trade War With China

Update Oct 15, 10:55pm: This article has been updated to include comments from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the impact of tariffs on the Bitcoin mining industry.

US President Donald Trump has confirmed the US is in an active trade war with China after threatening a 100% tariff on all Chinese imports last week.

“Well, we’re in one now,” Trump said after being asked by White House reporters whether the US is preparing for a “sustained trade war with China.”

”If we didn’t have tariffs, we would be exposed as being a nothing, we would have no defense,” Trump explained, calling the tariffs an important measure for America’s national security.

A social media post from Trump last Friday threatening the tariffs sparked a crypto market crash that saw Bitcoin (BTC) fall from around $121,560 to below $103,000 over several hours.

Related: $19B crypto market crash: Was it leverage, China tariffs or both?

Trump said he would impose a 100% tariff on China after China tightened its export controls on rare earth minerals that are essential for building computer chips.

Trump’s latest comments haven’t triggered a significant market selloff, with Bitcoin up 0.1% over the last hour, CoinGecko data shows.

Bessent slams China’s “disappointing actions”

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticized China’s trade tactics earlier on Wednesday, claiming China’s actions will backfire if they don’t ease export controls:

”If some in the Chinese government want to slow down the global economy through disappointing actions and through economic coercion, the Chinese economy will be hurt the most — and make no mistake: this is China versus the world.”

“We and our allies will neither be commanded nor controlled [by] a group of bureaucrats in Beijing,” Bessent added.

Tariffs have hurt Bitcoin mining industry

Trump’s tariffs on several Asian countries have, however, made it more challenging for US-based miners to purchase ASIC Bitcoin miners.

The tariff currently stands at 57.6% on China-origin mining machines and 21.6% on those from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, making it significantly more expensive than before.

Last year, Bitcoin miners also ran into problems with the US Customs and Border Protection, which seized thousands of Bitcoin miners under the impression they were illegally imported radio frequency devices.

Despite the issues, no major US Bitcoin mining company has shifted its operations overseas as some industry analysts anticipated.

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