Treasury secretary addresses U.S.-China trade tensions over rare earth exports and tariff threats.
Last week, President Trump stated he may impose an additional 100 percent tariff on Chinese imports starting November 1 or sooner, citing China’s new export restrictions on rare earth elements. The Chinese government recently prohibited foreign companies from exporting the metallic elements, and technologies used in mining and refining them, unless they obtain special approval. The materials are vital to electronics, defense systems, and clean-energy industries.
After President Trump cast doubt on the meeting that had been planned later this month in response to the export restrictions, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, “He will be meeting with Party Chair Xi in Korea. I believe that meeting will still be on. The idea is to give them time to meet and work this out.”
The meeting is scheduled to take place during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea at the end of October.
Secretary Bessent elaborated, “The Chinese system is quite brittle, so this may not have come from Xi Jinping himself. This may have come from a Chinese hard-liner. They have hard-liners on their side, too, who are always trying to undermine the relationship.”
The White House said it would consider export controls on certain American software if China’s restrictions remain in place.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For President Trump to seek God’s direction as he assesses the trade and economic relationships with other nations.
- For the president and members of his Cabinet to be discerning in their negotiations with trade partners.
Sources: AP News, MSN, USA Today
