Portuguese 
English 
Spanish 
3 min of reading 
2 comments 
Rare Earth Land Dispute: China’s Restrictions on Strategic Magnets Revive Threat of 200% Tariff Announced by Donald Trump
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has increased pressure on Beijing again. On Monday (25), he stated that China needs to ensure the supply of magnets for the American industry or, otherwise, the U.S. will impose a “200% tariff or something like that.” The statement comes amid the intensification of the trade and technological war between the two largest economies on the planet.
The Chinese government has treated magnets and the minerals that compose them as strategic resources. In April, Beijing restricted the export of various products related to rare earths, including the magnets themselves, in response to Washington’s tariff hikes.
These components are essential for high-performance sectors, as the most powerful magnets rely on neodymium, samarium, and dysprosium alloys — the latter being able to ensure thermal stability in advanced industrial and technological applications.
-
SpaceX sets share price at $135 and targets a historic $75 billion IPO to debut on Nasdaq with a trillion-dollar market value
-
While the world rushes to mine lithium from Congo and Chile, Brazil sits on one of the largest reserves and has barely begun to explore.
-
Heir worked at thirteen in an ice cream factory without revealing he was the owner’s son; today, at twenty-five, he leads the best-selling ice cream brand for home consumption in the Northeast, grosses almost R$ 300 million, has 145 stores, and competes with multinationals with regional flavors.
-
Lock manufacturer from Rio Grande do Sul invests R$ 150 million to surpass R$ 1 billion in revenue, create 200 jobs, and double storage capacity, while choosing Santa Catarina to set up a new logistics center and speed up deliveries in Southern Brazil.
Trump’s new threat represents yet another chapter in the escalation between the two countries. Tension intensified in the second quarter following the widespread tariff increases imposed by the Republican.
Despite this, there have been recent moments of truce: on August 11, China’s Ministry of Commerce extended by 90 days the suspension of additional tariffs on American products, a measure that came after Trump signed an executive order that also extended the tariff truce.
During this period, Beijing maintained a 10% tariff on U.S. goods.
Recall the May Agreement
On May 12, the United States and China reached a temporary understanding to reduce reciprocal tariffs for 90 days. On the American side, the rate on Chinese imports dropped from 145% to 30%. Meanwhile, China reduced tariffs on U.S. products from 125% to 10%.
However, two weeks later, Trump accused Beijing of not adhering to the agreement. “The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly for some, completely violated its agreement with us,” the President wrote on social media.
The Chinese government responded by calling for an end to “discriminatory restrictions” and insisted that both sides maintain the consensus reached in high-level negotiations held in Geneva, Switzerland.
The pact, which was set to expire on August 12, was extended one day before its expiration for another 90 days.
Economic and Fiscal Impacts in the U.S.
Trump’s measures were announced with the goal of reducing the trade deficit and strengthening America’s position in future negotiations. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), an independent agency linked to Congress, the tariff hike is expected to cut the public deficit by US$ 4 trillion by 2035.
Of that total, US$ 3.3 trillion would come from the reduction in the primary deficit — the difference between government revenues and expenses — while US$ 700 billion would represent savings on interest payments for the debt.
“Recent changes make the reduction even larger than estimated in June, when we projected a cut of US$ 2.5 trillion in primary deficits and US$ 500 billion in interest spending,” the report released on August 22 stated.
Despite the positive impact on public accounts, the CBO warns of significant side effects. Higher tariffs tend to increase the cost of consumer and capital goods, reduce investments, compromise productivity, and consequently decrease the purchasing power of businesses and families.
The agency also highlighted that the effective tariff on imports is already 18 percentage points above the average for 2024, which is expected to slow economic growth in the country in the coming years.
Cuidado com os Sleelacks! Vocês foram avisados!
Ei, Laranjão, chama o Posto Ypiranga.
Mas talvez ele lhe ache comunista, pois comprou parte das ações da Intel. Os liberais, não são mais os mesmos de outrora.