Jamieson Greer, U.S. trade representative, speaks with CNBC on Oct. 14, 2025.
CNBC
President Donald Trump could still slap China with 100% tariffs on Nov. 1 or sooner depending on Beijing’s next move in a dispute over rare earths, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC on Tuesday.
“A lot depends on what the Chinese do,” Greer told CNBC in an interview. “They are the ones who have chosen to make this major escalation.”
China announced sweeping restrictions on rare earth exports last week that would disrupt the U.S. defense, technology, semiconductor and automobile industries if implemented.
“We can’t have a situation where the Chinese keep this regime in place where they want to have veto power over the world’s high tech supply chains,” Greer said.
The restrictions took the White House by surprise. Beijing announced the measures ahead of an expected meeting between Trump and President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit later this month in Seoul, South Korea.
U.S. and Chinese officials at the senior staff level spoke as recently as Monday in Washington about the rare earth dispute, Greer said.
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