US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Sunday that the US reached out to China for a phone call following an announcement that it was expanding its rare earths export controls but Beijing deferred.
“I can tell you that we were not notified, and quickly, as soon as we found out from public sources, we reached out to the Chinese to have a phone call, and they deferred,” Greer told Fox News’ Sunday Briefing, while calling China’s move “a power grab”.
US President Donald Trump responded on Friday to China’s expansion by imposing 100 per cent tariffs on China’s US-bound exports, along with new export controls on “any and all critical software” by November 1.
Trump on Sunday said the United States “wants to help China, not hurt it”.
US Vice-President J.D. Vance called on Beijing to “choose the path of reason”, claiming that Trump has more leverage.
“It’s going to be a delicate dance, and a lot of it is going to depend on how the Chinese respond,” Vance said on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures.
