President Trump answered China’s brazen move to choke off critical minerals with the kind of toughness Washington used to lack, threatening a 100 percent tariff on Chinese imports and putting Beijing on notice that America will not cede its manufacturing or national security to foreign monopolies. This is the kind of decisive action the country needs — not backroom deals and timid appeals to globalists who have hollowed out our industrial base.
Beijing predictably doubled down, defending its rare earth export controls as legitimate and accusing the United States of hypocrisy, even as those very minerals power everything from EVs to missile guidance systems. Let them posture; we see through it — these controls are economic coercion dressed up as security theater, and Americans won’t tolerate a single country holding the world’s supply chain hostage.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer made clear the administration reached out to China for talks and that Beijing deferred, a telling sign that diplomacy must be matched with consequences if it’s to mean anything. Greer’s candor shows we’re not negotiating from a position of fear but from one of leverage, and the administration is right to keep pressure on until supply chains are diversified and America’s workers are protected.
This standoff even puts the proposed meeting between President Trump and Xi Jinping at risk, which is exactly how it should be — summitry has to be earned, not handed over while our strategic lifelines are being cut. Americans shouldn’t accept a photo op that pretends everything is normal when Beijing is weaponizing minerals and undermining our economy; the president owes the country more than optics.
Meanwhile the White House is signaling it will stand by American farmers who always bear the brunt when foreign powers retaliate, preparing relief measures and even considering directing tariff revenues to cushion rural communities. This administration understands that an America First trade policy must come with a plan to protect the backbone of our country — the men and women who feed it — and that’s what responsible leadership looks like.
Make no mistake: forcing the Chinese to play by fair rules and breaking their chokehold on rare earths is about national security, jobs, and restoring American independence. It’s past time to rebuild our mines, our refineries, and our factories so vital supplies aren’t decided in Beijing boardrooms; that is how we win the economic and strategic competition with China.
The elites who choked off our manufacturing and cheered on globalization will shriek now, but their outrage won’t pay the bills or secure our children’s future. Ordinary Americans want leaders who fight for them, not globalist managers who sell out sovereignty for short-term corporate profits.
If patriots stand united behind these tough measures, we can force Beijing back to the table on terms that protect our industries and our security. Hold the line, support our farmers and manufacturers, and let the chips fall where they must — America’s prosperity and freedom are worth the fight.
