Trump Threatens to Charge China with 200 Percent Tariff
(MENAFN) President Donald Trump issued a sharp warning Monday, threatening to impose a 200% tariff—or “something” close to that—on China if it refuses to supply critical magnets to the United States. Speaking at the White House during a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, Trump insisted, “They have to give us magnets. If they don't give us magnets ... we have to charge them a 200% tariff or something.” He added confidently, “But, we're not going to have a problem.”
Trump accused China of deliberately securing a global monopoly on magnets, stating, “China intelligently went and they took a monopoly of the world's magnets.” He argued that China’s influence convinced the world to heavily rely on magnets over the past two decades: “Nobody needed magnets until they convinced everybody 20 years ago, 'let's all do magnets.'”
The president outlined the national security implications, acknowledging the US is now deeply dependent on magnets but predicted a domestic turnaround, saying, “It’ll take us probably a year to have them. We're heavy into the world of magnets now, only from a national security standpoint, but we have a powerful thing.”
Trump also highlighted the impact of magnets on aerospace, revealing that Washington’s export restrictions on Boeing parts to China led to 200 Chinese planes being “unable to fly” because Beijing withheld magnets. “I could have held them back. I didn't do that because of the relationship I have. And they're flying. Their planes are now flying,” Trump stated.
Reiterating the power of tariffs, Trump stressed, “Therefore, we weren't given (magnets), but we have a much more powerful thing: That's tariffs. If we want to put 100%, 200% tariffs on, we wouldn't do any business with China.”
Despite the tension, Trump claimed the US has gained leverage in the magnet dispute while conceding that China retains “some” influence. He confidently predicted an increase in US magnet production: “With magnets, we're going to have a lot of magnets in a pretty short period of time. In fact, we'll have so many we won't know what to do with them.”
Closing on a note of strength, Trump emphasized Washington’s superior negotiating position and his personal connections with Beijing: “We hold bigger and better cards than China.”
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