By bizn_fun 
Last week, China’s Ministry of Commerce published a document that went by the name of “announcement No. 62 of 2025”.
But this wasn’t just any bureaucratic missive. It has rocked the fragile tariffs truce with the US.
The announcement detailed sweeping new curbs on its rare earth exports, in a move that tightens Beijing’s grip on the global supply of the critical minerals – and reminded Donald Trump just how much leverage China holds in the trade war.
China has a near-monopoly in the processing of rare earths – crucial for the production of everything from smartphones to fighter jets.
Under the new rules, foreign companies now need the Chinese government’s approval to export products that contain even a tiny amount of rare earths and must declare their intended use.
In response, US President Donald Trump threatened to impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods and put export controls on key software.
“This is China versus the world. They have pointed a bazooka at the supply chains and the industrial base of the entire free world, and we’re not going to have it,” said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
On Thursday, China said the US had “deliberately provoked unnecessary misunderstanding and panic” over the rare earths restrictions.
“Provided the export licence applications are compliant and intended for civilian use, they will be approved,” a commerce ministry spokesperson added.
This week, the world’s two biggest economies also imposed new port fees on each other’s ships.
The flare-up in the trade war brings to an end months of relative calm after top US and Chinese officials brokered a truce in May.
Later this month, Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping are expected to meet and experts have told the BBC the rare earths restrictions will give China the upper hand.
China’s new controls are bound to “shock the system” as they target vulnerabilities in American supply chains, said international business lecturer Naoise McDonagh from Australia’s Edith Cowan University.
“The timing has really upset the kind of timeline for negotiations that the Americans wanted,” he added.