China's mineral threat: South Korean exports to US in jeopardy
China threatens South Korea with sanctions for exporting products with Chinese minerals to the USA. China holds key resources and technology to precisely impact the US economy.
China has warned South Korea of potential sanctions if it continues to export products containing Chinese rare earth minerals to American defence companies, according to the Korea Economic Daily, citing government and corporate sources.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has sent letters to South Korean companies that utilise Chinese rare earth metals to manufacture transformers, batteries, electronic displays, electric vehicles, aerospace components, or medical equipment.
China is employing export restrictions as a countermeasure to US tariffs on Chinese goods, which stand at 145% per cent on imports from China, writes FOX Business.
Markets rebound
On Tuesday, financial markets in the US experienced gains after previous declines. The Dow Jones increased by over 600 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose by 1.7% per cent and 2% per cent, respectively.
These gains followed Monday's declines, which were caused by concerns over progress in trade talks and President Trump's criticism of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. In his statements on Truth Social, Trump advocated for a reduction in interest rates, arguing that inflation is low and energy and food costs are decreasing.
The International Monetary Fund lowered its economic growth forecasts for the US and other countries due to high tariffs and trade uncertainty.
The US economic growth is projected to be 1.8% per cent, a reduction of 0.9 percentage points from the January forecast. Global growth is expected to be 2.8% per cent, down by 0.5 percentage points. These changes result from tariffs announced by Trump and trade responses from the US's partners.
