The dispute between the United States and China on the duties has found a new object of the dispute: the magnets obtained from the rare lands. Washington does not hide the irritation for Beijing dependence, which presides over almost the whole of the global production chain.
Donald Trump therefore decided to transform these small pieces of metal, fundamental for cars, electronic and renewable, into a political weapon. His proclamations, which oscillate between threats of exorbitant duties and the freezing of planes components, reported the magnets in the spotlight of geopolitics.
For Europe, where the link with Chinese manufacture is already profound, the speech on magnets is not at all secondary: the possible new duties could translate into more convenient imports and in decline pressure on prices, but also in further dependencies on a single source of supply.
The threat of duties on Chinese magnets
The tension between Washington and Beijing does not stop at the duties already in force. During a meeting in the oval study with the South Korean president Lee Jae Myung, Trump said that China must continue to provide magnets to the United States, threatening new taxes up to 200 percent in the other hand.
Beijing controls about 90 percent of the world production of these components and also dominates the refining of the minerals from which they derive. One thing that the American empire cannot accept.
Despite Trump’s threatening tones, Beijing has started to send magnets to the United States, bringing volumes to the levels previous to spring restrictions. Already in June, for example, exports have splashed over six times compared to the month before, and the rhythm has not stopped. Washington and Beijing have squeezed a provisional agreement that relieves some constraints on rare earths and reduces American limitations on sensitive technologies. The agreement provides for a lowering of mutual duties to 55 and 32 percent, but has a deadline set in mid -November.
The duties on China may have repercussions in Europe
Washington has imposed record surcharges on Chinese goods, reaching up to 135 percent of the value. The move has made Beijing products in the United States less attractive and forced the producers to look elsewhere. According to the ECB, Europe risks becoming the natural terminal of this deviation of flows, with a substantial part of Chinese exports ready to pour on the EU market.
According to the European Central Bank, if Chinese exports were diverted from America to Europe, the impact would be immediate. The estimates speak of an increase in imports up to 10% already in 2026.
Nothing surprising for Frankfurt: the link with Made in China is now rooted. More than four out of ten European companies buy goods produced in China, with high points in the clothing, footwear and appliances sectors.
Iron affinity between Chinese exports and European market
Economists have noticed that Chinese products intended for the United States are not very different from those sent to Europe. This makes it easy to divert the containers from the American to the European port, with the European Union ready to welcome what no longer finds buyers overseas. The devaluation of Renminbi adds another incentive: for European importers buy from China becomes even more convenient.
What consequences on prices in the euro area
An increase in Chinese supplies would have direct effects on the dynamics of prices. Always the European Central Bank warns that it could slow down the inflation of the euro area of about 0.15 percentage points in the most extreme cases. But consumers would not see immediate benefits: the drop in import costs tends to filter slowly in the lists, in particular for non -energy industrial goods.
Digital duties and restrictions on the technological market
The clutch does not only concern Beijing. Trump has decided to point the finger also against countries that apply digital taxes considered a sting for American big techs. Through his official channels he warned that, if those rules are not canceled, additional duties and restrictions on semi -hounding exports will start. Thus the battle expands to the chip sector and the entire digital universe, with Europe that risks being on the fire line.
