On Monday, August 25th, President Donald Trump warned that during the trade tariff truce between the two countries, Beijing must supply magnets to the United States, or else “we will have to impose a 200% tariff or similar punishment on them.”
President Trump received a visit from South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Monday. In the Oval Office, he told the media present that Beijing has “monopolized the global magnet market,” and Washington believes that the supply of magnets is crucial for American national security, particularly in the aviation sector.
Beijing has strengthened its control over rare earth elements and their supply in retaliation for the US raising tariffs, listing several rare earth products and magnets on the export restriction list in April.
Currently, the US and China have entered a truce period and have conducted three rounds of high-level trade negotiations. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who participated in the negotiations, stated in an interview in early August that China has promised to supply rare earths (magnets) to the US.
Greer said, “You may have heard that Beijing has already implemented global control over (magnets), so for the US, our focus is to ensure that magnets flow from China to the US, and that the relevant supply chains can flow freely as before.”
According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, the total export volume of rare earth magnets in July reached 5,577 tons, increasing for the second consecutive month and reaching the highest monthly level since January this year.
Among them, exports to the US reached 619 tons, a significant increase of 75.5% from the previous month and a 4.8% increase year-on-year. Previously, due to export approval delays, shipments to the US in April and May had dropped to just 46 tons, causing disruptions in some American manufacturing supply chains. This means that China’s rare earth exports to the US in July exceeded the level before Beijing imposed export controls.
President Trump emphasized on Monday that the US now has “tremendous power” through tariffs and other economic means, but he also added that compared to the previous administration, the economic relationship between the US and China is “much better.”
Trump also mentioned that Chinese leader Xi Jinping wants him to visit China and that he might visit China later this year or in the near future.
He even jokingly mentioned to President Lee Jae-myung, “Maybe we can go together, do you want to go together? We can share a plane. That way, we can save energy.” His words elicited laughter from the audience.