Trump Increases Tariffs on Goods From China, 'Orders' U.S. Companies to Cut Ties With the Country

Updated at 5:18 p.m. ET

President Trump on Friday announced higher tariffs on goods from China, hours after Beijing said it will slap tariffs on $75 billion of autos and other U.S. goods. Earlier in the day, he "ordered" U.S. companies to stop doing business with China though it was unclear whether he had the power to do that.

Trump tweeted that starting Oct. 1, $250 billion worth of goods from China currently being taxed at 25% will face tariffs of 30%. And, starting Sept. 1, $300 billion worth of other goods will be subject to tariffs of 15% — up from the 10% previously announced.

Trump's announcement came after the stock market closed.

U.S. stock markets fell sharply after Trump's earlier tweets threatening to respond to China's latest tariffs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 623 points, or about 2.4%. The S&P 500 dropped about 2.6%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 3%.

Friday's tit-for-tat announcements mark an escalation in a trade war that has rippled through the world economy and raised fears of a U.S. recession.

The first batch of China's tariffs on U.S. goods will go into effect Sept. 1, and a second, on autos and auto parts, is due to go into effect Dec. 15. The tariffs range from 5% to 25%.

"My only question is, who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi?" Trump tweeted earlier Friday, referring to the Federal Reserve chairman, whom he has been urging to cut interest rates, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Trump tweeted the United States has "stupidly" lost trillions of dollars to China over the years, citing the theft of intellectual property. "We don't need China and, frankly, would be far better off without them," he said.