The Trump administration is weighing export restrictions on products made with or containing U.S. software, from laptops to jet engines, in response to China’s expanded rare-earth controls, Reuters reported, citing a U.S. official and three people briefed on the deliberations.
“Everything imaginable is made with U.S. software,” one source said. The step would follow through on President Donald Trump’s Oct. 10 threat to bar exports of “any and all critical software” to China by Nov. 1, though the measure may not move forward, according to the report.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said “everything is on the table” and any action would likely be coordinated with G7 allies. U.S. stocks fell on the report: the S&P 500 closed down about 0.5%, and the Nasdaq lost about 1%.
The approach would echo restrictions used against Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Emily Kilcrease, a former U.S. trade official now at the Center for a New American Security, said such controls would be extraordinarily difficult to implement and could lead to blowback for U.S. industry.
Reuters also reported that Chinese imports currently face about 55% U.S. tariffs, which could rise to about 155% if Trump’s threatened hike proceeds. On Oct. 12, Trump posted that “The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!!” Bessent is expected to meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Malaysia this week ahead of a planned Trump–Xi meeting in South Korea later this month, Reuters reported.
