Does China's rare earth leverage constrain US export controls?
Core argument: The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security has been told to avoid tough export-control moves on China, according to eight people including current and former US officials, as Trump seeks to avoid actions that could hurt efforts to meet Xi Jinping.
The commerce department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which runs export controls, has been told in recent months to avoid tough moves on China, according to eight people, including current and former US officials. Trump wants to avoid actions that could hurt efforts to meet Xi, some officials have argued that the US is hamstrung on export controls because of the risk that China retaliates by restricting the export to the US of critical rare earths and magnets, as it did in May for the first time. Earlier this year, Trump was poised to restrict technology exports to China. In April, his team told Nvidia it would block the export of its H20 chip, which was designed for the Chinese market after the Biden administration restricted more advanced chips. But Trump reversed course following direct lobbying from Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang. The H20 has become the focus of a battle between security officials, who say the chip will help the Chinese military, and Nvidia, which says blocking US technology exports forces Chinese groups to accelerate innovation.


