Trump China tariffs 2025 reignite trade war fears ahead of IMF-World Bank talks, sparking market volatility and concern over global economic stability

Trump China tariffs 2025 have seized the spotlight at this week’s IMF and World Bank meetings in Washington, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s unexpected threat to slap 100 per cent tariffs on all Chinese imports.

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The announcement has rattled global markets and overshadowed initial plans for the meetings, which were to focus on economic resilience amid recent global shocks.

Now, fears of a renewed trade war between the world’s two largest economies have taken precedence, with over 10,000 finance chiefs and delegates from 190 nations forced to reassess their outlooks.

Trump’s declaration, made in response to China’s latest export restrictions on rare earth minerals, threatens to undo months of fragile progress between Washington and Beijing.

The proposed tariffs are set to take effect on November 1, potentially triggering retaliatory action from China and escalating an already strained economic relationship.

Trump China tariffs 2025 also come at a delicate time for the global economy. Investors had only just begun recovering from earlier uncertainty, with artificial intelligence stocks driving a heated rally that many feared was unsustainable.

Trump’s tariff threat triggered a steep sell-off on Friday, before reassurances from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent helped markets rebound slightly on Monday.

Bessent told Fox Business Network that the situation could still be de-escalated. “The 100 per cent tariff does not have to happen,” he said, adding that Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month in South Korea.

Staff-level talks between the two countries are already underway on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank meetings.

Despite the turbulence, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva struck a cautiously optimistic tone, praising the global economy’s ability to adapt to rising interest rates and slowing job markets.

However, she acknowledged that downside risks — including geopolitical tensions — continue to dominate.

Reuters reports the IMF is expected to project a modest global GDP growth rate of around 3 per cent for 2025, only slightly lower than the previous year, but warned that any further disruption in U.S.-China relations could quickly change that picture.

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With markets jittery and policy uncertainty growing, the finance world now watches closely as Trump’s next move could shape not just bilateral relations, but the global economic trajectory for the year ahead.

Trump China tariffs 2025 spark global economic concern