EchoEtcher
Well-known member
China has found a new way to stick it to Donald Trump and the US - by restricting rare earth exports. The move, announced just last week, is seen as a major escalation in China's trade war with Washington. Rare earths are crucial for producing high-tech goods such as smartphones, electric cars, and military equipment.
Under the new rules, foreign companies will need Beijing's approval to export products that contain even a small amount of rare earths, and must declare their intended use. This effectively gives China control over the global supply of these critical minerals.
The move has sent shockwaves through Washington, with President Trump threatening to impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods and put export controls on key software. But analysts say China's economy is unlikely to be hurt by the drop in exports - rare earths make up just a tiny fraction of China's $18.7 trillion annual GDP.
However, China's control over the global supply chain gives Beijing significant leverage in talks with the US. "The two sides should engage in effective communication, properly resolve differences and promote stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-US relations," said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
The US could try to negotiate a deal, but experts say it's unlikely to succeed without some concessions from Washington. "China can carry on even if it costs a lot more under US export controls," said international business lecturer Naoise McDonagh. But if China cuts off rare earth supplies, that can actually stop everyone's industry - and that's the big difference.
In the short-term, Beijing holds all the cards in the trade war. But Washington has some strategic options at its disposal - such as offering to lower tariffs or targeting China's tech industry with export controls. The question is whether those options will be enough to counter China's newfound leverage.
Under the new rules, foreign companies will need Beijing's approval to export products that contain even a small amount of rare earths, and must declare their intended use. This effectively gives China control over the global supply of these critical minerals.
The move has sent shockwaves through Washington, with President Trump threatening to impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods and put export controls on key software. But analysts say China's economy is unlikely to be hurt by the drop in exports - rare earths make up just a tiny fraction of China's $18.7 trillion annual GDP.
However, China's control over the global supply chain gives Beijing significant leverage in talks with the US. "The two sides should engage in effective communication, properly resolve differences and promote stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-US relations," said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
The US could try to negotiate a deal, but experts say it's unlikely to succeed without some concessions from Washington. "China can carry on even if it costs a lot more under US export controls," said international business lecturer Naoise McDonagh. But if China cuts off rare earth supplies, that can actually stop everyone's industry - and that's the big difference.
In the short-term, Beijing holds all the cards in the trade war. But Washington has some strategic options at its disposal - such as offering to lower tariffs or targeting China's tech industry with export controls. The question is whether those options will be enough to counter China's newfound leverage.
. China just moved their pawns, and now it's the US' turn to respond. But here's the thing - if China cuts off rare earth supplies, everyone gets hurt 
. The US can't just keep talking about tariffs and expect China to back down. They need to bring something real to the table 
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It's not like the US can just impose its own trade policies and expect everyone to play by its rules. There needs to be some kind of global coordination or something.
. So, fingers crossed that we can find a way out of this trade war without too much damage 
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... there are still plenty of ways for Washington to turn this around and even come out on top 
. We'll just have to keep an eye on how this whole thing plays out! 
. I'm not even sure why the US is surprised - China's been playing us from day one in this whole trade war thing 
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... I mean, who knew rare earths were such a big deal? It's like they're trying to control the whole world or something 
. But for real though, it's a major escalation in their trade war and it's gonna be tough for the US to come out on top without making some serious concessions 
... maybe they need to get creative with their strategy 
and now he's all like "i'm gonna impose more tariffs" 
which is just gonna make things worse in the long run 
i mean, china's economy isn't even that affected by this 
so what's the point of escalating? 
just thinkin... this whole rare earth thing is a big deal, but like, what's the real goal here? Is china tryna punish us for somethin' or what? 
This is not good, US is getting totally screwed by China... the fact that they're restricting rare earth exports basically gives them control over the whole global supply chain for high-tech goods like smartphones and electric cars. And now Trump is threatening to impose an additional 100% tariff, which just gonna make things worse. I mean, what's the plan there? 
Remember how the Soviet Union used to control so much of the world's oil supply? Same idea here - China has got itself a new stick to poke at Trump and the US. Rare earths are crucial for all our fancy tech gadgets, but it's just a tiny fraction of their economy... 0.005% or something crazy like that. 
China's trying to play the 'we're gonna cut you off' card and I just don't think it'll hurt them that much 
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