Arrogant America launched a trade war, no need for China's retaliation. U.S. Trade Representative: Whether to impose 100% tariffs "depends on Beijing's next move"

As the U.S.-China trade confrontation continues, U.S. Trade Representative Griles said on Tuesday, October 14, in an interview with U.S. media that President Trump still has the possibility of imposing 100% tariffs on Chinese goods imported into the United States on November 1 or even earlier, "which will depend on the next action taken by Beijing in the rare earth dispute."

Taiwan's Central News Agency reported that Griles told a U.S. financial media CNBC in an interview that, "many things depend on China's actions." He also accused, "it is China that chose to escalate the situation sharply."

CNBC reported that China announced last week a broad restriction on rare earth exports, and if these measures are implemented, it may impact the U.S. defense, technology, semiconductor, and automotive industries.

Griles said, "We cannot allow China to continue maintaining this system, which enables it to have a veto over the global high-tech supply chain."

Reports say that the measures announced by Beijing to restrict the export of rare earths caught the White House by surprise. Before that, the two leaders had planned to meet during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting held in South Korea later this month.

Griles said that the two leaders had planned to meet, but he also implied that the plan might change with the development of the situation.

Griles said, "I don't want to make any commitments for us or for China regarding whether the meeting will take place as scheduled." However, he believes that dialogue is always meaningful if there is an opportunity.

He also revealed that senior officials from both countries had discussed the rare earth dispute in Washington on Monday. He also believes that both sides can resolve this trade dispute.

Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs as retaliation for Beijing's announcement of restricting rare earth mineral exports. U.S. media reports said that this new conflict caused the U.S. stock market to fall sharply, and Trump even said he might not meet with China. However, Trump later seemed to ease tensions, and both sides privately expressed a desire to at least temporarily ease their trade disputes.

According to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), China controls about 60% of global rare earth mining and more than 90% of refining capacity. Data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) indicates that the U.S. relies on China for about 70% of its rare earth imports.

Source: rfi

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846008835624969/

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