China, Mexico Signal Willingness to Step Up Trade Talks With U.S.
Beijing’s latest missive struck a newly measured tone, despite accusing Washington of scuttling negotiations, while Mexico sends a delegation to Washington to discuss immigration issues.
The Wall Street Journal Reports (Subscription Required) that China and Mexico both signaled a willingness to negotiate with Washington over escalating trade issues, while the Trump administration took to the airwaves to defend its use of tariffs to gain concessions from trading partners. “We’re willing to adopt a cooperative approach to find a solution,” Vice Commerce Secretary Wang Shouwen said in Beijing on Sunday.
Mexico, meanwhile, rushed a delegation to the U.S. to discuss immigration issues, following the Trump administration’s threat last week to impose tariffs on all Mexican goods entering the U.S. if the Mexican government fails to take aggressive measures to stem the flow of immigrants through Mexico and into the U.S. Tariffs on all Mexican imports would begin at 5% and rise by 5 percentage points each month before reaching 25% in October.
Meanwhile Bloomberg reports that Beijing has readied a plan to restrict exports of rare earths to the U.S. if needed, as both sides in the trade war dig in for a protracted dispute, according to people familiar with the matter.
Heavy rare earths include dysprosium, used in magnets commonplace in almost all cars and many consumer goods. The group also has yttrium, used in lighting and flat screens, as well as ytterbium, which has applications in cancer treatments and earthquake monitoring.
