Trump's fresh tariffs on East Asia, China's rare earth dominance: SCMP daily highlights
subscribing
US President Donald Trump, apparently impatient with the slow progress of negotiations, on Monday slapped 25 per cent unilateral tariffs on Japan and South Korea and equal or higher import taxes on several other nations ahead of a self-imposed Wednesday deadline.
Beijing's recent export controls on rare earths have spurred a flurry of international efforts to diversify supply chains and reduce China's long-standing dominance in critical minerals.
When US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to extend a pause on 'reciprocal' tariffs until August 1, it offered little comfort to China. Instead, Beijing's policymakers may feel increasingly cornered, as Washington also moved to target 14 countries – many of them China's close trading partners – with tariffs of up to 40 per cent.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Swearing Trump slams Putin, says US will send weapons to Ukraine
US President Donald Trump accused his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday of talking 'b******t' about Ukraine, saying that the United States would send Kyiv more weapons to defend itself. Advertisement Trump's expletive reflected his growing frustration with the Kremlin leader over the grinding war that Moscow launched nearly 3½ years ago. 'We get a lot of b******t thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth,' Trump told reporters during a televised cabinet meeting at the White House. 'He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.' Trump reiterated that he was 'very unhappy' with Putin since their phone call last week made no progress on the Ukraine peace deal that the US president has pushed for since returning to power. Advertisement Asked about his interest in a bill proposed by the Senate for further sanctions on Russia, Trump said: 'I'm looking at it very strongly.'
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Swearing Trump crudely slams Putin, says US will send weapons to Ukraine
US President Donald Trump accused his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday of talking 'b*******' about Ukraine, saying that the United States would send Kyiv more weapons to defend itself. Trump's expletive reflected his growing frustration with the Kremlin leader over the grinding war that Moscow launched nearly 3½ years ago. 'We get a lot of b******* thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth,' Trump told reporters during a televised cabinet meeting at the White House. 'He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.' Trump reiterated that he was 'very unhappy' with Putin since their phone call last week made no progress on the Ukraine peace deal that the US president has pushed for since returning to power. Asked about his interest in a bill proposed by the Senate for further sanctions on Russia, Trump said: 'I'm looking at it very strongly.'
South China Morning Post
4 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Trump admin restricts foreign ownership of US farmland amid China tensions
The Trump administration is tightening its grip on foreign ownership of farmland amid continuing concerns over Chinese investment in America's heartland. Advertisement The US Department of Agriculture will work with state lawmakers to end farmland purchases 'by nationals for countries of concern or other foreign adversaries', according to a press event on Tuesday. The USDA is also partnering with the US Treasury Department's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, to review foreign purchases involving the farming industry. US farms are 'under threat from criminals, from political adversaries and from hostile regimes that understand our way of life as a profound and existential threat to themselves', Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said at the event. Rollins said she is officially part of CFIUS as of Tuesday. US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins peaks during a news conference to roll out the USDA'S National Farm Security Action Plan in Washington on Tuesday. Photo: AP The move comes as US-China tensions have reverberated across state and local politics in Middle America in recent years, sowing angst about Chinese investment.
