US President Donald Trump claimed that China was planning export controls on rare earth elements and other production inputs and announced that they were considering increasing customs duties on Chinese products in response to this development.
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said, “Something very strange is happening in China! They are taking an extremely aggressive stance and are sending letters to countries around the world stating that they want to impose export restrictions on every element of rare earth production. This will clog markets and make life difficult for countries around the world.”
Trump stated that relations with China have been progressing “very well” over the past six months, but that this sudden trade move came as a major surprise to both himself and “free world leaders.” He also stated that China has long “established a monopoly position in magnetic and other elements,” which he described as a “deliberate and hostile strategy.”
“The United States also has much stronger monopoly positions than China, but I’ve never had a reason to use them, until now!” Trump said, adding that the letter China sent “consists of many pages” and lists in detail which elements they want to stop giving to other countries.
Trump also questioned whether it was a “coincidence” that this development coincided with the day “peace was achieved after three thousand years” in the Middle East.
The US President stated that they would implement economic measures in response to China’s stance, saying, “For every element China has a monopoly on, we have two. I never thought we’d get to this point, but perhaps it’s time. One of the policies we’re considering right now is a major increase in tariffs on Chinese products imported into the US.”
*This is not investment advice.