US officials blast China on ‘supply-chain power grab’ over rare earth export curbs
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer speaks to the press as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stands alongside, on the day of U.S.-China talks on trade, economic and national security issues, in Madrid, Spain, September 15, 2025. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
WASHINGTON: Top US officials on Wednesday (Oct 15) blasted China’s expanded export controls on rare earths as a threat to global supply chains, but said Beijing could still step back and avoid forcing Washington to decouple from the world’s second-largest economy.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer called China’s new export regime a “global supply-chain power grab”, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that Beijing’s move risked escalating tensions that have already rattled financial markets.
“As of last night, US President Donald Trump was still expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea later this month,” Bessent said, adding that talks to stabilise relations were continuing.
Greer said China had not yet implemented the revised rules and could still withdraw them, just as the US had not enforced its threatened 100 per cent tariff hike on Chinese goods.
“These are drafted, or in draft, so it’s quite real, but our expectation is that they won’t implement this,” Greer told reporters. “We can get back to where we were a week ago, with the tariff levels and flow of rare earths that were agreed to.”
WASHINGTON SEEKS TO AVOID ESCALATION
The rare earth dispute flared last week when China unveiled sweeping new export restrictions. Trump quickly threatened to double tariffs on Chinese goods in response, raising fears of another all-out trade war.
Bessent and Greer, who have met Chinese officials four times in recent months, said both sides were now working to de-escalate.
Bessent told reporters that “trust between President Trump and President Xi” had so far prevented a deeper crisis, but warned that the US would act if China proved to be an unreliable supplier.
“Not only is China fuelling Russia’s war (in Ukraine), but its actions have once again demonstrated the risk of being dependent on them,” he said. “If China wants to be an unreliable partner to the world, then the world will have to decouple.”
US WEIGHS NEXT STEPS
Bessent said Washington could respond with additional export controls if Beijing proceeded with the rare earth measures. He also said the US was ready to tariff China over its purchases of Russian oil, provided European allies joined in.
He confirmed that Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers would discuss the issue later on Wednesday during meetings on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank annual gatherings.
“While there are substantial actions we can take, we’d rather not,” Bessent said. “I believe China’s open to discussion and I’m optimistic this can be de-escalated.”
US TO PRESENT EVIDENCE OF CHINESE COMPONENTS IN RUSSIAN DRONES
Bessent also said Washington would share photographs supplied by Ukraine showing Chinese components used in Russian drones.
Earlier on Wednesday, he told CNBC that Beijing had likely planned the rare earth restrictions in advance, rejecting China’s claim that they were a reaction to higher US port fees for Chinese ships.
He said a lower-level Chinese trade official, Li Chenggang, had threatened as early as August to “unleash chaos on the global system” if Washington followed through on its port measures.
Bessent added: “China can still make the right choice. It’s not too late to step back.”
