Trump’s threats came after China sharply expanded its export controls for rare earths, the powerful materials that underpin everything from semiconductors and clean energy technologies to the U.S. defense industry. Beijing dominates the world’s rare-earth supply chains, commanding about 85 percent of processing and 92 percent of magnet production. That has given it key leverage that it’s harnessed in multiple rounds of negotiations after Trump first launched his trade war in April.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to unleash new tariffs on China and cast doubt over a potential meeting between him and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month in South Korea, further escalating a now monthslong trade spat between the two powers.
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