President Trump on Friday threatened an increase in tariffs on China and other potential countermeasures after Beijing tightened control over rare earth elements and critical mineral exports.
Trump wrote in a lengthy post on Truth Social that he did not see a reason to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a summit in South Korea later this month as previously planned in light of Beijing’s moves, which Trump called “surprising.”
“Dependent on what China says about the hostile ‘order’ that they have just put out, I will be forced, as President of the United States of America, to financially counter their move,” Trump posted. “For every Element that they have been able to monopolize, we have two. I never thought it would come to this but perhaps, as with all things, the time has come.
“Ultimately, though potentially painful, it will be a very good thing, in the end, for the U.S.A. One of the Policies that we are calculating at this moment is a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States of America. There are many other countermeasures that are, likewise, under serious consideration.”
China announced this week that foreign entities must obtain a license in order to export any products containing more than 0.1 percent of rare earths that are either sourced in China or manufactured using China’s extraction process.
Rare earths and critical minerals are used in numerous products, including cars, semiconductors and electronics like laptops.
“This was a real surprise, not only to me, but to all the Leaders of the Free World. I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems to be no reason to do so,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
The president took issue with the timing of China’s announcement, which he noted came shortly after the Trump administration trumpeted a peace deal to end the fight in Gaza and release Israeli hostages.
“I have always felt that they’ve been lying in wait, and now, as usual, I have been proven right! There is no way that China should be allowed to hold the World ‘captive,’ but that seems to have been their plan for quite some time, starting with the ‘Magnets’ and, other Elements that they have quietly amassed into somewhat of a Monopoly position, a rather sinister and hostile move, to say the least,” Trump posted.
Trump said last month he would meet with Xi on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in South Korea. Trump spoke with Xi by phone on Sept. 19, with the two leaders discussing trade, the war in Ukraine and a deal to approve the sale of TikTok.
The president has spoken warmly of Xi throughout his second term, even as the Trump administration has hit Beijing with tariffs over the flow of fentanyl into the United States and left other tariffs from Trump’s first term in place.
