United States President Donald Trump has ramped up his trade war rhetoric, saying China must increase magnet exports to the US or face a massive tariff hike.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump said:
“China must give us more magnets or we have to charge them 200 percent tariff or something.”
Magnets and rare earth elements have become the latest flashpoint in the tariff standoff. Beijing dominates about 90 percent of the global magnet market, critical for products like smartphones and semiconductor chips, and in April, it tightened export restrictions after Washington raised tariffs.
The US recently bought a 10 percent stake in chip giant Intel, which relies heavily on rare earths. Meanwhile, Chinese exports of rare earth ore surged in July, rising by more than 4,700 tonnes compared to June, according to official data.
Trump’s warning comes after he extended a 90-day deadline on new tariffs earlier this month to give negotiations more time. Without the extension, duties on Chinese goods would have jumped to 145 percent. Both sides had previously agreed to scale tariffs back to 30 percent before lowering them again to 10 percent.
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