US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that his country expects support from India and the Europeans to push back against China’s restriction on the export of rare earth minerals, crucial for the US defence manufacturing sector.
Bessent’s comments come at a time when the trade relations between India and US have come under strain with President Donald Trump’s decision to impose 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods out of which 25 per cent are retaliatory tariffs for New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil and the remaining 25 per cent are reciprocal tariffs aimed at addressing the trade imbalance between India and the US.
Speaking to Fox NewsBessent said that China’s decision to restrict export of rare earth minerals has created a “China versus the world” situation, adding that Beijing has “pointed a bazooka at the supply chain and industrial base of the entire free world. We’re not gonna have it.”
The Trump administration official also claimed that China’s move to curb the export of rare earth minerals not just threatens the US but also the global economy.
Bessent said that while the US was striving for peace, China was sponsoring war. “The United States is pushing for peace in the world. China is financing war,” said Bessent as quoted by India Today.
According to the US Department of Defence, rare earth magnets form the core of America’s defence technology-powering F-35 fighter jets, Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines, Predator drones, Tomahawk cruise missiles, as well as sophisticated radar and precision-guided weapons systems.
China’s control over the rare earth supply chain gives it significant leverage, with roughly 60 per cent of global mining and more than 90 per cent of refining attributed to the country, as per the International Energy Agency. The US Geological Survey further notes that about 70 per cent of America’s rare earth imports originate from China.
Interestingly, US President Donald Trump had earlier said China’s economic issues would “all be fine”, adding the US “wants to help China, not hurt it”.
“Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine!” Trump wrote.
“Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesn’t want depression for his country, and neither do I. The USA wants to help China, not hurt it!!!” he added in a post on Truth Social.
However, Bessent argued that the US was de-risking and not decoupling. “We do not want to decouple. We want to de-risk,” he said, adding, “Critical minerals are part of it, semiconductor independence is part of it, bringing the pharmaceutical industry back on shore, and everything that President Trump has done with the America First agenda.”
The Trump administration official also said that the US was in touch with its allies over the issue, adding, “We will be meeting with them this week. I suspect we will get substantial global support from the Europeans, from the Indians, and the democracies in Asia.”
