Trump Threatens Tariffs Over China’s Rare-Earth Export Curbs

US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to launch new tariffs on China and cast doubt on a possible meeting between him and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month in South Korea, further escalating a months-long trade dispute between the two powers.

Trump’s threats came after China sharply expanded export controls on rare earths, the powerful materials that underpin everything from semiconductors and clean energy technologies to the US defense industry. Beijing dominates the world’s rare earth supply chains, controlling about 85 percent of processing and 92 percent of magnet production. That gave it key leverage that was harnessed in multiple rounds of negotiations after Trump first launched his trade war in April.

US President Donald Trump on Friday He threatened to unleash new tariffs on China and raise doubts about a possible meeting between him and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month in South Korea, further escalating a months-long trade dispute between the two powers.

Trump’s threats came after China sharply expanded its export controls on rare earth elements, the powerful materials on which everything is based. Semiconductors and clean energy technologies for the US defense industry. Beijing dominates the world’s rare earth supply chains, controlling about 85 percent of processing and 92 percent of magnet production. That gave her key leverage that was harnessed in multiple rounds of negotiations after Trump first He launched his trade war In April.

Under the new controls imposed by Beijing, which are scheduled to take effect on December 1, foreign companies must… Secure approval From the Chinese government to export magnets and some semiconductor materials which include at least 0.1 percent Chinese rare earth content. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in its statement that these steps “will protect national security and interests.” advertisement.

In particular, export licenses with Military purposes It is unlikely to get approval, according to Ministry. The Ministry will approve export applications involving artificial intelligence and semiconductors on a On a case-by-case basis. In a Separate advertisementBeijing also unveiled new export controls targeting the battery supply chain, which are set to begin November 8.

Industry experts said the moves, if fully implemented, would represent a major escalation of the trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies.

“These are the most stringent export restrictions China has ever imposed on rare earths,” said Gracelyn Bhaskaran, director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “These magnets are essential to our defense technologies, and by making them almost impossible for defense companies and the military to access, they are crippling our industrial base,” Bhaskaran said.

The series of moves is sure to increase pressure between Beijing and Washington ahead of the expected upcoming talks between Xi and Trump in South Korea at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, which begins on October 31. But after announcing Beijing’s latest measures, Trump said in a statement: Posted on Social Truth He added that “it now seems that there is no reason” for him to meet his Chinese counterpart. “There is no way to let China hold the world captive,” he declared, “but it appears that has been their plan for some time.”

Trump added in his post that Beijing sent messages to other countries announcing its new restrictions. “Depending on what China says about the hostile ‘order’ they just issued, I, as President of the United States of America, will have to financially confront their move,” he said.

He added that this could include steeper customs tariffs. “One policy we are considering at this moment is a massive increase in tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States of America,” Trump wrote. “There are several other countermeasures that are also under serious consideration.”

Chris McGuire, who previously worked at the National Security Council and the US State Department under the Biden and Trump administrations, said Washington has big levers to pull, especially regarding semiconductor chip supply chains. While the United States has previously imposed targeted controls on select semiconductors, Washington has the potential to go further, he said.

“If the Chinese are going to try to threaten to shut down our entire semiconductor ecosystem with controls on rare earths — if they are really intent on doing that — they have to realize that we have the ability to expand this to a much broader range of their commercial ecosystem as well,” he said.

Some lawmakers have pushed for other forms of pressure. In January, Republican Rep. John Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on China, met with Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi. Legislation introduced It aims to revoke China’s permanent normal trade relations status. (Republican Sens. Tom Cotton and Jim Banks have introduced companion legislation in the Senate.) Also in September, Molenaar urge The Trump administration to launch a coordinated effort with US allies to jointly pressure Beijing by targeting Chinese commercial aviation landing rights, commercial aviation parts and services, and foreign investments.

In response to China’s latest announcement, Moolenaar reiterated those calls in a speech statement Thursday. “China has shot the American economy,” he said.