WASHINGTON: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent slammed Beijing’s rare earth export curbs Wednesday as “China versus the world,” vowing that Washington and its allies would “neither be commanded nor controlled.”
“This should be a clear sign to our allies that we must work together, and work together we will,” Bessent told reporters at a press conference.
His comments came as global economic leaders gather in Washington this week for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s fall meetings.
“We do not want to decouple. We should work together to de-risk and diversify our supply chains away from China as quickly as possible,” Bessent urged.
He spoke days after Beijing imposed fresh controls on the export of rare earth technologies and items.
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China is the world’s leading producer of the minerals used to make magnets crucial to the auto, electronic and defense industries.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told the same press briefing that “this is not just about the United States.”
He said: “China’s announcement is nothing more than a global supply chain power grab.”
“This move is not proportional retaliation. It is an exercise in economic coercion on every country in the world,” he added.
Trade tensions between Washington and Beijing have reignited in US President Donald Trump’s second presidency, with tit-for-tat duties reaching triple-digit levels at one point. Both sides have de-escalated levels but their truce remains shaky and is set to expire in early November.
With the latest controls surrounding rare earths, Trump has threatened an additional 100-percent tariff on goods from China starting November too.
Bessent said an extension of the halt in higher tariffs was possible, in return for a delay in rare earth curbs.
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