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2h ago

Trump–Xi Meeting Still On as U.S. Moves to Counter China’s Rare‑Earth Controls

U.S. officials label the curbs economic coercion, signaling price floors, stockpiles, equity stakes to de‑risk supply chains.

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A sample of monazite, a mineral used in the rare earth industry to extract elements such as cerium, lanthanum, and neodymium, is displayed next to a magnification glass at the Geological Museum of China in Beijing, China, October 14, 2025. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and President of Argentina Javier Milei in the Cabinet Room at the White House on October 14, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Overview

  • China issued expanded rare‑earth export controls with a 0.1% de minimis threshold, new licensing and a ban on exports for foreign military use, with most measures taking effect in November and some in December.
  • President Donald Trump threatened an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods starting Nov. 1 unless Beijing backs off, and U.S. trade officials say tariff hikes or new export controls are in preparation.
  • Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Trump remains a go to meet Xi Jinping at the APEC summit in South Korea, with daily working‑level contacts and the possibility of extending a tariff pause if China delays its curbs.
  • Bessent said Washington will set price floors and use forward buying across industries and could take equity stakes and build stockpiles, citing a July Department of Defense deal with MP Materials as a model.
  • Bessent cast the dispute as “China versus the world,” urged allied coordination, and recounted an August warning from a Chinese trade official to “unleash chaos,” as analysts flagged the rules’ extraterritorial reach over ‘Chinese persons.’