Two days after announcing a 100% tariff on China, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, said today to Americans "not to worry about China".
What happened
Trump referred to the President of China as someone "highly respected". He stated that the Chinese leader "just went through a difficult time". "He doesn't want a depression for his country, and I don't either," he said in a statement published today on Truth Social.
According to the American president, "the US wants to help China, not harm it". The tariff on Chinese products came after China restricted exports of strategic minerals.
Earlier, Trump's deputy, James D. Vance, stated that the US decision will depend on China. According to him, the US government is "shocked by China's decision on rare earths". "We can have a better relationship, but not if they cut off the world's access to the goods they produce," he said in an interview with Fox News.
Today, about 70% of the global supply of rare earth minerals comes from China. In the US, minerals are essential for high-tech industries, including automobiles, defense, and semiconductors. In practice, the Chinese measure would increase the cost of American production.
Trump had already said that China took "an extraordinarily aggressive stance on trade". "It's absolutely unprecedented in International Trade and a moral disgrace in relation to other nations," said the US president when announcing the 100% tariff.