+
President Donald Trump

TRUMP CHECKS CHINA: Rare Earths Play 'Very Hostile ... I Will Be Forced to Financially Counter Their Move'

posted by Hannity Staff - 10.10.25

Trump warns China has been “lying in wait” as rare earth tensions escalate.

In a lengthy Truth SOCIAL post, President Trump said China’s new export restrictions “came out of nowhere,” accusing Beijing of trying to strangle global access to critical minerals across its rare earth supply chain.

Supplies of materials like copper, cobalt, zinc, and lead have become a flashpoint in U.S.-China trade tensions, as these magnets and metals are central to energy, defense, and manufacturing industries.

“I have always felt that they’ve been lying in wait, and now, as usual, I have been proven right! There is no way that China should be allowed to hold the World ‘captive,’ but that seems to have been their plan for quite some time,” Trump wrote.

“They have quietly amassed [rare earths] into somewhat of a Monopoly position, a rather sinister and hostile move, to say the least. But the US 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!”

Trump cautioned that while higher tariffs on China could be “potentially painful,” they “will be a very good thing, in the end.” He added that the White House is weighing other countermeasures alongside the tariff hikes.

Markets reacted sharply to Trump’s comments. Stocks that had been surging earlier in the day turned lower, with the Nasdaq slipping from a record high. The sell-off erased the S&P 500’s weekly gain, now down roughly 1%.

China-dependent tech companies bore the brunt: Nvidia fell 1.7%, AMD 5.7%, and Tesla 2.9%.

Trump’s warning rattled Wall Street but reminded Beijing that America still holds cards it hasn’t yet played.

Trump’s full TRUTH Social post below:

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. Nobody has ever seen anything like this but, essentially, it would “clog” the Markets, and make life difficult for virtually every Country in the World, especially for China. We have been contacted by other Countries who are extremely angry at this great Trade hostility, which came out of nowhere. 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! There is no way that China should be allowed to hold the World “captive,” but that seems to have been their plan for quite some time, starting with the “Magnets” and, other Elements that they have quietly amassed into somewhat of a Monopoly position, a rather sinister and hostile move, to say the least. 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! The letter they sent is many pages long, and details, with great specificity, each and every Element that they want to withhold from other Nations. Things that were routine are no longer routine at all. I have not spoken to President Xi because there was no reason to do so. This was a real surprise, not only to me, but to all the Leaders of the Free World. I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems to be no reason to do so. The Chinese letters were especially inappropriate in that this was the Day that, after three thousand years of bedlam and fighting, there is PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST. I wonder if that timing was coincidental? 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. 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. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
 
DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

More over at The New York Post: