Trump trade rep says 100% tariff on China depends on Beijing’s next move

President Donald Trump could slap China with 100% tariffs on Nov. 1 or sooner, depending on the next step Beijing takes in a dispute over rare earths, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC on Tuesday.

“A lot depends on what the Chinese do,” Greer said in an interview with CNBC. “They are the ones who chose to escalate this huge tension.”

China last week announced sweeping restrictions on rare earth exports that, if implemented, would disrupt the U.S. defense, technology, semiconductor and auto industries.

Trump retaliated by threatening massive tariffs that would effectively halt trade between the world’s two largest economies.

“We cannot afford to have this regime in place where the Chinese want to have veto power over the world’s high-tech supply chains,” the US trade representative said.

The restrictions surprised the White House ahead of an expected meeting between Trump and President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Seoul, South Korea, later this month.

Greer stated that Trump and Xi are still planned to meet, but these plans may change depending on the course of the situation.

“Whether this happens or not, I don’t want to pre-commit ourselves or the Chinese,” Greer said of the meeting. “But I think it makes sense for people to talk when they can.”

Senior U.S. and Chinese officials spoke about the rare earth dispute in Washington on Monday, Greer said.

“We think we can handle it,” Greer said of the dispute.

Rare earths are used to produce magnets used in US weapons platforms, electric vehicles, the semiconductor industry and other applications.

According to the report, China controls 60 percent of rare earth mining and more than 90 percent of refining worldwide. International Energy Agency. The United States depends on China for about 70% of its rare earth imports, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

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