President Donald Trump said Monday he may impose a 200% tariff on Chinese goods if China refuses to sell magnets to the U.S., following tightened Chinese controls on rare earth mining. “They have to give us magnets,” Trump stated during an Oval Office meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
He added, “If they don’t give us magnets, then we have to charge them 200% tariff or something… But we’re not going to have a problem, I don’t think, with that.” His remarks come after China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced stricter quota limits and tracking requirements for rare earth producers.
China currently refines about 99% of the world’s heavy rare earth minerals, which are critical for magnet production.
Trump noted the U.S. could take “probably about a year” to build its own supply, underscoring strategic concerns over resource dependence.
