Trump Floats 200% Tariff on China Over Magnet Supply

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 Beijing’s tighter grip on rare earth mining. “They have to give us magnets,” Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. “If they don’t give us magnets, then we have to charge them a 200% tariff or something… But we’re not going to have a problem, I don’t think, with that.” His comments follow China’s move to enforce stricter quotas and tracking rules for rare earth producers. China currently refines about 99% of the world’s heavy rare earth minerals, essential for high-performance magnets used in tech and defense. Trump said the U.S. could take “probably about a year” to build its own supply, and argued Washington holds more trade leverage than Beijing, citing airplane parts as a strategic counterweight to China’s dominance in rare earths.