Washington– U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that Washington expects strong backing from allies and partners, including India, as it moves to counter China’s new export restrictions on rare earth elements.
In an interview with Fox News, Bessent described Beijing’s actions as “China versus the world,” expressing confidence that global democracies would stand with the United States.
“We have already been in touch with our allies. We will be meeting with them this week, and I expect substantial support from the Europeans, from the Indians, from the democracies in Asia,” he said. “This is a global problem, and I think our global allies will follow us on this.”
Bessent emphasized that Washington would not “let these export restrictions and monitoring go on,” adding that “everything is on the table” in terms of a U.S. response.
“Back in early summer, we were forced to put 12 countermeasures on China that affected natural resources used in plastics for jet engines and parts. I believe they had to ground a large part of their civilian fleet. So, we have plenty of straight brute-force countermeasures we can pull,” he stated.
The remarks follow President Donald Trump’s threat on Friday to impose additional 100 percent tariffs on Chinese products starting November 1 and to expand export controls on “any critical software.” Trump also suggested he might cancel a planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, accusing Beijing of “hostile” trade behavior after it expanded restrictions on rare earth exports.
However, on Sunday, Trump appeared to soften his tone, saying there was no need to “worry about China” and suggesting Xi had merely “had a bad moment.”
Last week, Beijing tightened its export rules for rare-earth elements and imposed a new fee on U.S. ships, responding to Washington’s expanded export regulations.
Bessent confirmed that the meeting between Trump and Xi is still scheduled to take place in South Korea. “President Trump said that the tariffs would not go into effect until November 1. He will be meeting with Party Chair Xi in Korea. I believe the meeting will still be on. There has been substantial communication over the weekend,” Bessent said.
Trade negotiations between the two countries have been ongoing since April, with a temporary truce set to expire on November 10. (Source: IANS)
