Greer Says China Trade Tensions Could Subside Soon
Still, Rare-Earths and Semiconductor Dispute Remains Central to Conflict
Key Takeaways:
- U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said tensions with China over export controls could ease after recent high-level talks between the two governments.
- The dispute has intensified as Beijing sanctioned U.S. units of a South Korean firm and President Donald Trump threatened 100% tariffs on Chinese goods by Nov. 1.
- Greer said both sides may still meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit later this month, but the outcome depends on China’s trade actions.
[Stay on top of transportation news: .]
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer predicted that heightened tensions with China over export controls would ease, following talks between representatives from the world’s two largest economies.
“We’ve been pretty successful in finding a path forward with them in the past so we think we’ll be able to work through it,” Greer said Oct. 14 in an interview with CNBC.
Senior-level officials from the U.S. and Chinese governments held discussions about recent tensions on Monday, Greer said, without naming who participated.
China and the U.S. have shown few signs of backing down from the tit-for-tat retaliation that has rattled the global economy ahead of an expected meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month.
(CNBC Television via YouTube)
Beijing this week sanctioned the U.S. units of a South Korean shipping giant and threatened further retaliations against the industry.
It was the latest in a long line of moves from both nations to restrict shipments of rare-earth-minerals and semiconductors, which lie at the heart of the trade conflict between the two countries. In response to recent Chinese measures, Trump threatened to impose an additional 100% tariff on goods from China by Nov. 1 and raised the prospect of canceling his meeting with Xi.
Greer said the U.S. has seen signs that China has “realized that they’ve overstepped,” citing what he said was less bellicose language in recent Chinese government statements. Still, he declined to estimate when tensions would be resolved.
“We’ll just have to see where that goes. Right? I mean, it’s hard for them to find an off-ramp at this point,” Greer said.
RELATED:China Stands Firm, Calls on US to Withdraw 100% Tariff Threat
Xi and Trump still have a “scheduled time” to meet around the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea, Greer said.
“Whether it’ll go through or not, I don’t want to pre-commit either ourselves or the Chinese, but I think it makes sense for people to talk when they can,” he said.
Whether the 100% tariff goes into effect “depends a lot on what the Chinese do,” Greer said.
“Our agreement was we’re going to keep our tariffs low if you keep the rare earths flowing, they’re now saying that they’re going to control more rare earths and downstream products. And so it makes sense that, you know, we can raise our tariffs,” he said.
Want more news? Listen to today's daily briefing belowor go here for more info:
