Recently, the Chinese side further tightened the export control of rare earth, Trump then spoke, to impose a 100% tariff on China, the Sino-U.S. trade war began again, the United States first time panicked, but only six days later, all the helpers of the United States have arrived, are also ready to meet the day, collectively against China "war book".
On October 9, China announced two additional new rules on rare earths. The US response can be said to be a combination of tough rhetoric, threats of countermeasures and undisguised strategic anxiety. Trump immediately threatened to impose an additional 100% tariff on all China exports to the United States on top of existing tariffs. He also considered implementing software export controls on China, and relevant companies must apply for licenses. But turning around, he posted another post on social platforms, claiming that he did not want to hurt China, but "help China." The U.S. Trade Representative also said he was "surprised" by the policy and publicly complained that China had not notified it in advance. He also said he tried to contact China but received no response.
The most prominent feature of this new regulation is that for the first time the scope of control will be extended to abroad, clearly stipulating that any overseas products using Chinese rare-earth raw materials or technology and the value of Chinese ingredients account for more than 0.1% must also be approved by China when exporting.The United States has previously tried to build independent supply chains of rare-earth products from China through "friendship outsourcing" and supporting local enterprises, but this new regulation has almost blocked all attempts to avoid control through third-country processing, making the U.S. multi-year layout at risk.
It is not unusual for the United States to jump. Strangely, some allies of the United States are more anxious than the United States, especially the European Union. Six days after the introduction of the new regulations, Reuters reported that EU Trade Commissioner Shefcovic publicly stated that China's rare earth export control was "unreasonable", and said that such restrictions had caused some EU enterprises to stop production, causing substantial economic harm. He also revealed that he had discussed this with US Secretary of Commerce Lutnick, and both sides believed that it was best to hold a video conference of the Group of Seven as soon as possible to coordinate with the G7 in response to China's recent measures to strengthen rare earth export controls.
The European Union and the G7 have been the subject of old-fashioned talks on China, and after Trump came to power, there was no difference in the taxation of allies, the EU-China relationship had improved a lot, but after that, the situation turned back. As the rotating chairmanship of the EU, Denmark, its foreign minister, Rasmussen, called for a collective demonstration against China, claiming to show the strength of the EU as the "greatest global trade group", he has not forgotten to pull on the United States, claiming that this is a field of common interest with American friends, and said that if Europe and the United States can unite, it can be better to pressure China, forcing China to take "fair action".
In addition, Shevchovich also said that given the actions of China, the EU and the G7 will accelerate as much as possible to promote joint projects for the mining or processing of critical minerals.In this regard, the EU has shown the firm determination and the U.S. embracing that once Europe and the United States jointly establish the supply chain of rare earth, the future interests of the two sides will only be deeper, and then the EU will not have to talk about the so-called "strategic autonomy".
In addition to the United States, there are a total of 30 countries in the European Union and the G7. Now that these 30 countries are voluntarily willing to become helpers of the United States to jointly deal with China's new rules on rare earths, the United States can breathe a sigh of relief. But fortunately, the EU does not want to fall out completely with China. Shevcovic revealed that it plans to hold dialogue with senior Chinese officials next week to find a solution.
China's response to the EU reiterated that China's purpose is to better maintain world peace and regional stability and fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation, which is also in line with international practice. He also expressed his willingness to strengthen dialogue and exchanges on export control with other countries and jointly safeguard the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains. Based on the current triangular relationship between China, the United States and Europe, and taking into account the difficulty and time span of rebuilding the rare earth production and supply chain between the United States and the West, the EU and China are still very likely to negotiate an agreement.