President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are likely to talk this week about the ongoing trade negotiations between the world's largest economies, National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said Sunday,
Why it matters: It would mark a major advance in the increasingly turbulent trade relationship between the countries, and is a step that U.S. officials have suggested was necessary for progress.
America is so far defying the gloomiest economic forecasts, but tariff threats keep scrambling the good news.
Why it matters: Inflation is at a four-year low, consumer sentiment might be on the mend and the stock market has recovered from its post- "Liberation Day" lows — but it's all being overshadowed by intensifying China trade tensions.
When Secretary of State Marco Rubio abruptly announced plans Wednesday to cancel the visas of all Chinese students in the U.S., the Trump administration was quick to cast it as a way to root out spies from the communist nation.
But behind the scenes, what really set off Rubio was the administration's realization that China was withholding precious rare-earth minerals and magnets as a tariff negotiating tool, sources tell Axios.
Why it matters: The decision to target as many as 280,000 Chinese students — and throw another complication into the ongoing trade talks with China — reflects how crucial rare minerals are to the U.S. tech industry.
