(Washington, D.C.) U.S. Treasury Secretary Matt Bessant warned that the Trump administration is prepared to raise tariffs on Chinese rare earth exports if Beijing continues to block them.
Following talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea last Thursday (October 30), China announced it would suspend restrictions on rare earth materials and technologies imposed in October for one year.
However, Bessant expressed concern in an interview with Fox News on Sunday (November 2), suggesting that Beijing does not always keep its promises.
He noted, "China has a monopoly on the (rare earth) market, and unfortunately, they sometimes prove to be unreliable partners."
Many countries, including the United States, mine rare earths, but China virtually monopolizes the industrial processing of rare earths. Furthermore, although the restrictions announced in October have been frozen, some export restrictions previously imposed by Beijing remain in effect.
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Bessant said that after the agreement reached between the leaders of the two countries and the demonstration of "goodwill," he hoped "we can count on them (China) to be a more reliable partner." Otherwise, "we might threaten to impose tariffs again."
He also emphasized that Washington is prepared to use "the strongest means." "We don't want to decouple from China, but we must reduce the risks."
Bessant also accused previous US administrations of negligence, allowing Beijing to spend years developing its rare earth strategy.
In an interview with CNN, he said, "Now, this administration will move at an astonishing pace over the next year or two to remove the sword of Damocles hanging over us and the world."
According to the agreement reached at the Xi-Trump meeting, Washington will reduce tariffs on Chinese goods by 10 percentage points while requiring China to take measures to prevent fentanyl from flowing into the United States.
China-US Trade War: China Has Not Fallen Behind Since Trump returned to the White House this year, the tit-for-tat trade war between the US and China has escalated, with tariffs imposed by both sides reaching triple digits at one point. Despite pressure from the United States, CNN statistics show that China has not been at a disadvantage in this round of trade war.
Even before the start of Trump's second term, Chinese exports to the US had already declined. In September, China's total exports to the US amounted to $34.3 billion (S$44.7 billion), a 27% decrease from $47 billion in the same period last year.
China has not only diversified its exports but also imported more products from other countries in search of alternatives to American goods.
China did not import any soybeans from the US in September, instead importing from Brazil and Argentina.
As the third-largest buyer of US beef, China has also significantly reduced its purchases in recent months. Last month, China bought $11 million worth of US beef, a sharp 90% decrease compared to $110 million in September last year.
