Trump, Xi to discuss trade war after US anger over rare-earths curbs
US President Donald Trump is expected to hold a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week, following rising tensions over China’s ongoing export restrictions on rare-earth elements critical for batteries, industrial magnets, and high-tech devices.
Trump, who vented about the status of a preliminary tariff-reducing pact on Friday, is not expected to speak with Xi Monday, a White House official confirmed to The Post, News.Az reports.
China controls most global processing for 17 metallic rare earths, which have economically significant applications for items like lasers, wind turbines and electric cars.
The US and China agreed May 12 following discussions in Geneva, Switzerland, to lower sky-high tariffs that had brought trade to a near-halt — with Washington lowering duties on Chinese goods to 30% from up to 145% and Beijing lowering its own levies to 10% from 125%.
Trump proclaimed the agreement as part of a drive to “open” China’s economy.
“The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!” the president wrote on social media Friday.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who brokered the initial trade reset last month, said Sunday that Trump intended to resolve the dispute as soon as possible.
“What China is doing is they are holding back products that are essential for the industrial supply chains of India, of Europe. And that is not what a reliable partner does,” Bessent told CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
“They are withholding some of the products that they agreed to release during our agreement — maybe it’s a glitch in the Chinese system, maybe it’s intentional. We’ll see after the president speaks with the party chairman.”
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