Today, President Donald Trump expressed strong frustration over China's recent trade actions, particularly China's new restrictions on rare earth minerals exports. He threatened to respond with a "massive increase of tariffs" on Chinese imports to the United States and indicated he might cancel his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC summit in South Korea. Trump called China's moves "trade hostility" and criticized China for trying to "hold the world captive" with its export controls on rare earth elements, which are critical for advanced technologies. His comments triggered a drop in U.S. stock markets. Trump said the tariffs might be potentially painful but necessary to counteract China's policies. He emphasized that the U.S. has alternatives to some of the rare earth elements that China monopolizes and claimed other nations are also upset with China's trade restrictions. Trump concluded that the meeting with Xi Jinping no longer seems necessary under the current circumstances.
Additionally, Trump reiterated his stance on the ongoing federal government shutdown, criticizing Democrats and threatening to cut "Democrat programs" from federal budgets if the shutdown continues. He also criticized Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer. The shutdown has caused missed paychecks for federal employees and increased political tension.
