Trump calls Xi’s rare earth move a ‘bad moment’ — why it matters for US national security, China ties

The Trump administration is seeking to cool tensions between the U.S. and China, after Beijing unveiled plans to impose export controls on rare-earth magnets and after the U.S. threatened more stringent tariffs on Chinese goods in retaliation. Rare-earth elements are used in products such as electric cars, household appliances, lithium batteries and camera lenses — and are critical to national security because the magnets are key components in many weapons systems.The export controls directly affect the defense supply chain since the magnets are used in F-35 fighter jets, Virginia- and Columbi