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WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has accused China of pursuing sweeping export controls on rare earth minerals around the world and vowed that the United States will respond economically, possibly by “significantly increasing tariffs” on Chinese imports.
Trump also threatened to cancel plans to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in South Korea later this month.
“This was a real surprise, not just to me, but to every leader of the free world,” President Trump wrote in a lengthy Oct. 10 post on Truth Social. “I was scheduled to meet with President Xi at APEC in South Korea in two weeks, but there seems to be no reason to do so now.”
President Trump said countries around the world recently received a letter from China detailing its intention to impose export controls on “every element of production related to rare earths, and virtually every other thing you can think of, even if it’s not made in China.” He likened the move to China’s attempt to “monopoly” the rare earth industry.
Trump accused China of “great hostility on trade” and said the move “came out of nowhere,” even though China and the United States have been engaged in a months-long trade war during Trump’s second term.
“Our relationship with China over the past six months has been very good, which makes this move on trade all the more surprising,” Trump said. “I always had the feeling that they were in ambush, and as always, I was proven right!”
“As President of the United States, I will be forced to counter their moves economically,” Trump said. He said the administration is considering “a major increase in tariffs on Chinese products” to the United States as a possibility. He said additional countermeasures were being considered, but he did not provide specifics.
“For every element they had a monopoly on, we have two,” Trump wrote. “We never expected this to happen, but perhaps, like all things, the time has come. In the end, although it may be painful, it will ultimately be very good for the United States.”
President Trump says China is trying to ‘constrain the world’
President Trump, entering his second term, has imposed significant tariffs on imports from around the world. China was initially targeted by the highest tariffs, but in August the Trump administration and China reached a second agreement to extend the tariff truce for 90 days, avoiding triple-digit tariffs on imports that both countries had threatened.
President Trump signed an order that prevents U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods from rising to a maximum of 145%, while China’s tariffs on U.S. goods are scheduled to reach 125%, a rate that would create a de facto trade embargo between the two countries. The ceasefire fixed a 30% tariff on Chinese imports, and reduced China’s tariffs on US imports to 10%.
President Trump last spoke with President Xi on September 19th. After the phone call, President Trump announced a deal to sell Beijing-based TikTok’s U.S. operations to a U.S.-based startup.
Trump said in a social media post that China cannot be allowed to “hold the world in captivity,” but added that this is what China is trying to do with the rare earth magnets and elements it has “secretly amassed toward a monopolistic position.” He called the strategy “a pretty sinister and hostile move, to say the least.”
“But the United States also has a monopoly position, far more powerful and far-reaching than China. I simply chose not to take advantage of it and have had no reason to do so — until now!” Trump wrote.
President Trump also questioned the timing of China’s letter. Because that’s what he did when he helped orchestrate the peace deal between Israel and Hamas. Was the timing a coincidence?
Contributed by: Reuters
X Contact Joey Garrison at @joeygarrison.
