During a press conference at the White House, Trump responded to a question about the possibility of escalating relations with China into a trade war by saying, “We are in the midst of it now.”
On October 9, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced that it would impose export controls on a range of goods related to medium and heavy rare earth elements, lithium batteries, synthetic graphite anode materials, rare earth mining and processing equipment, and ultra-strong materials starting November 8.
Later, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bisent stated that the United States might delay imposing new tariffs to allow the leaders of both countries to meet and discuss trade issues.
