Donald Trump, president of the United States, announced this October 10 that will impose new 100% tariffs on Chinabecause the president accuses the Asian country of maintain an “extremely hostile business posture.”
These taxes will come into force on November 1, and Trump points out that China has sought to impose severe controls on the export of what it calls “rare earths.”
This, added to Trump’s announcement this Friday of not meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinpingsince “he sees no reason to do so”, has further complicated the delicate commercial relationship between both countries, marked by the tariff war promoted by the US president.
“Very strange things are happening in China! It’s getting very hostile”Trump declared on his social network.
These new tariffs will be added to the levies already in force against China. BesidesTrump announced export controls on Chinese software.
“It is impossible to believe that China would have taken such an action, but they have, and the rest is History. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” -President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/Kx6deI2voC
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 10, 2025
What are “rare earths”?
This term refers to a set of 17 chemical elements present in natural deposits.
These elements are used in various objects, from vehicles and touch screens to solar panels and even banknotesdue to its magnetic, luminescent and electromagnetic properties.
The elements are: scandium, yttrium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium and lutetium.
Where are they located?
“Rare earths” are present in different regions of the planet; However, China has almost a monopoly in this industry, with about half of the world’s reserves.
In fact, the US Geological Survey points out that China concentrates approximately 49% of the “rare earths”which is equivalent to about 44 million tons.
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