President Donald Trump could still impose 100% tariffs on China on Nov. 1 or even earlier depending on Beijing’s next move in the rare earths dispute, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC on Tuesday.
Greer said it may be difficult for Beijing to find a way out. “A lot depends on what the Chinese do,” Greer told CNBC in an interview. “They are the ones who chose to make this big climb.”
He told CNBC that American and Chinese officials met for staff-level talks in Washington on Monday, adding that he believes there is still a chance to resolve a dispute over critical restrictions on minerals.
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“We believe we will be able to resolve this, but again, we cannot have a situation where the Chinese keep this regime in place, where they want to have veto power over the world’s high-tech supply chains,” he said. “I think they realized they overstepped.”
China announced sweeping restrictions on rare earth exports last week that would harm the U.S. defense, technology, semiconductor and automotive industries if implemented.
The restrictions caught the White House by surprise. Beijing announced the measures ahead of an expected meeting between Trump and President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit later this month in Seoul, South Korea.
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(com Reuters)
