❓WHAT HAPPENED: President Donald J. Trump has responded to China’s radical move to restrict rare earth mineral exports, in which the communist nation enacted extreme conditions on how countries can use the critical materials.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Trump, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, manufacturers and the semiconductor industry, China‘s Commerce Ministry, and the U.S. Department of War.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Trump’s response to the Chinese export restrictions was posted on Truth Social on Friday, October 10, 2025.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Dependent on what China says about the hostile ‘order’ that they have just put out, I will be forced, as President of the United States of America, to financially counter their move. For every Element that they have been able to monopolize, we have two.” — Donald Trump
🎯IMPACT: The move by China—which broke the terms of a prior trade truce with the United States—was largely interpreted as Xi Jinping believing Trump was quietly seeking a broader end to the trade conflict. Trump’s Friday post on Truth Social has likely thrown cold water on the Chinese reading of the situation.
President Donald J. Trump has responded to China’s radical move to restrict rare earth mineral exports, in which the communist nation enacted extreme conditions on how countries can use the critical materials. The move by China—which broke the terms of a prior trade truce with the United States—was largely interpreted as Xi Jinping believing Trump was quietly seeking a broader end to the trade conflict. Trump’s Friday post on Truth Social has likely thrown cold water on the Chinese reading of the situation.
“Some very strange things are happening in China! They are becoming very hostile, and sending letters to Countries throughout the World, that they want to impose Export Controls on each and every element of production having to do with Rare Earths, and virtually anything else they can think of, even if it’s not manufactured in China,” President Trump wrote before detailing the unprecedent export restrictions China is attempting to enact.
He continued: “Our relationship with China over the past six months has been a very good one, thereby making this move on Trade an even more surprising one. I have always felt that they’ve been lying in wait, and now, as usual, I have been proven right!”
Signalling likely further escalation in the U.S. trade war with China and noting that he has not spoken with Xi, Trump stated: “But the U.S. has Monopoly positions also, much stronger and more far reaching than China’s. I have just not chosen to use them, there was never a reason for me to do so—UNTIL NOW!”
“Dependent on what China says about the hostile ‘order’ that they have just put out, I will be forced, as President of the United States of America, to financially counter their move. For every Element that they have been able to monopolize, we have two,” Trump declared, adding: “I never thought it would come to this but perhaps, as with all things, the time has come. Ultimately, though potentially painful, it will be a very good thing, in the end, for the U.S.A. One of the Policies that we are calculating at this moment is a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States of America. There are many other countermeasures that are, likewise, under serious consideration.”
The National Pulse reported on Thursday that China imposed new restrictions on exporting rare earth minerals and other critical materials, likely impacting U.S. and. European manufacturers and defense industries. The new export controls were detailed in two notices from China‘s Commerce Ministry.
China, which dominates the global supply of rare earths, stated that the measures are necessary to “safeguard national security and interests.” Under the new rules, foreign exporters of products containing rare earths sourced from China must obtain licenses from Beijing’s commerce ministry. Licenses for products with “military use” will largely be denied, according to Chinese authorities.
The rules also bar Chinese firms from cooperating in specified fields and deny export licenses to foreign entities classified as dual-use or military end users. These restrictions could directly affect American companies that supply the U.S. Department of War. Export applications for advanced semiconductor-related items will now be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
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