
China signals softer stance on rare earth export curbs
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South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
EU ‘strongly regrets' Trump's steel tariff increase, threatens countermeasures
The European Union on Saturday spoke out against US President Donald Trump's latest tariff announcement regarding steel imports – and threatened a response before the summer. 'We strongly regret the announced increase of US tariffs on steel imports from 25 per cent to 50 per cent,' said a spokesman for the European Commission in Brussels, which is responsible for EU trade policy. 'This decision adds further uncertainty to the global economy and increases costs for consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.' The EU was ready to take countermeasures, the statement continued. This could also happen earlier than July 14. As things currently stand, EU counter-tariffs already planned due to Trump's initial tariff decisions would automatically come into force on this date. The bloc had wanted the measures to come into force on April 14, but held back after Trump granted many countries and the EU a 90-day pause from certain tariffs.


South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Trump's attempt to calm foreign students adds to US visa confusion for Chinese
President Donald Trump's comment that international students in the US would be 'fine' has only added to the confusion about his administration's stance, following controversy over an earlier announcement that it would 'aggressively' cancel Chinese student visas. Advertisement Asked on Friday about what message he would send to foreign students in the country, Trump said: 'Well, they're going to be OK. It's going to work out fine.' 'We just want to check out the individual students we have. And that's true with all colleges,' he told reporters at the White House. This came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on social media late on Wednesday that the US would 'aggressively revoke' visas for Chinese students, particularly 'those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields'. He said the US Department of State would also revise 'visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications' from mainland China and Hong Kong. Advertisement But the scope of the visa crackdown remains unclear, with Rubio's department refusing to specify the criteria for visa revocation or clarify what constitutes 'critical fields' and how ties to China's ruling party would be defined. Beijing lodged formal protests and condemned the move as 'politically motivated and discriminatory' on Thursday, amid signs of renewed tensions despite a 90-day tariff truce between the two countries.


South China Morning Post
9 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Trump's attempt to calm foreign students adds to visa confusion for Chinese
US President Donald Trump sought to reassure international students in the country that they would be 'fine' in a comment that added to the confusion about his administration's stance following controversy over an earlier announcement that it would 'aggressively' cancel Chinese student visas. Advertisement When asked on Friday what message he would send to foreign students in the country, Trump said: 'Well, they're going to be OK. It's going to work out fine.' 'We just want to check out the individual students we have. And that's true with all colleges,' he told reporters at the White House. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio dropped a bombshell late on Wednesday in a social media post announcing that the US would 'aggressively revoke' visas for Chinese students, particularly 'those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields'. He said the US Department of State would also revise 'visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications' from mainland China and Hong Kong. Advertisement But the scope of the visa crackdown remains unclear, with Rubio's department refusing to specify the criteria for visa revocation or clarify what constitutes 'critical fields' and how ties to China's ruling party would be defined. Beijing lodged formal protests and condemned the move as 'politically motivated and discriminatory' on Thursday amid signs of renewed tensions despite a 90-day tariff truce between the two countries.