Dimitri Sevastopoulos

On Friday night, the Customs and Border Protection Bureau put out a memo late at night that nobody seemed to see in Washington, but it was floating around in China on Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon, which said that cell phones, smartphones, laptops, computers, certain other kind of consumer electronic devices, and a whole range of goods, which are heavily imported from China,

On Friday night, the Customs and Border Protection Bureau put out a memo late at night that nobody seemed to see in Washington, but it was floating around in China on Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon, which said that cell phones, smartphones, laptops, computers, certain other kind of consumer electronic devices, and a whole range of goods, which are heavily imported from China,

On Friday night, the Customs and Border Protection Bureau put out a memo late at night that nobody seemed to see in Washington, but it was floating around in China on Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon, which said that cell phones, smartphones, laptops, computers, certain other kind of consumer electronic devices, and a whole range of goods, which are heavily imported from China,

would be exempt from the tariffs. So the whole world said, OK, fantastic, Donald Trump is backing off. He's seen sense on this. Americans are not going to see massive price rises in their iPhone or whatever other smartphone they use.

would be exempt from the tariffs. So the whole world said, OK, fantastic, Donald Trump is backing off. He's seen sense on this. Americans are not going to see massive price rises in their iPhone or whatever other smartphone they use.

would be exempt from the tariffs. So the whole world said, OK, fantastic, Donald Trump is backing off. He's seen sense on this. Americans are not going to see massive price rises in their iPhone or whatever other smartphone they use.

But then on Sunday, we had more confusion when Howard Ludnick, the Commerce Secretary, came out on television and said, no, no, no, no, no, we're not taking tariffs off these goods.

But then on Sunday, we had more confusion when Howard Ludnick, the Commerce Secretary, came out on television and said, no, no, no, no, no, we're not taking tariffs off these goods.

But then on Sunday, we had more confusion when Howard Ludnick, the Commerce Secretary, came out on television and said, no, no, no, no, no, we're not taking tariffs off these goods.

These different messages have created huge confusion as to what exactly the Trump administration is doing and why the rollout of the tariffs is so chaotic, given that they've had several months to plan how they were going to do this.

These different messages have created huge confusion as to what exactly the Trump administration is doing and why the rollout of the tariffs is so chaotic, given that they've had several months to plan how they were going to do this.

These different messages have created huge confusion as to what exactly the Trump administration is doing and why the rollout of the tariffs is so chaotic, given that they've had several months to plan how they were going to do this.

Yes, I mean, China has, as the US does, China has a range of tools that it can employ in a trade war with the US. The kind of the simplest retaliatory move it could take is to put countervailing tariffs on US exports, which it has done. But one of the areas where it essentially has a stranglehold on the global market is is in different kinds of critical minerals, rare earths.

Yes, I mean, China has, as the US does, China has a range of tools that it can employ in a trade war with the US. The kind of the simplest retaliatory move it could take is to put countervailing tariffs on US exports, which it has done. But one of the areas where it essentially has a stranglehold on the global market is is in different kinds of critical minerals, rare earths.

Yes, I mean, China has, as the US does, China has a range of tools that it can employ in a trade war with the US. The kind of the simplest retaliatory move it could take is to put countervailing tariffs on US exports, which it has done. But one of the areas where it essentially has a stranglehold on the global market is is in different kinds of critical minerals, rare earths.

These are metals and minerals which are used for everything from batteries for electric cars to components of weapons and a whole array of products in between. And China essentially is very, very dominant in the processing of these minerals, which means that if China decided to cut off supply to countries or to the world, it would have a massive impact because the U.S.

These are metals and minerals which are used for everything from batteries for electric cars to components of weapons and a whole array of products in between. And China essentially is very, very dominant in the processing of these minerals, which means that if China decided to cut off supply to countries or to the world, it would have a massive impact because the U.S.

These are metals and minerals which are used for everything from batteries for electric cars to components of weapons and a whole array of products in between. And China essentially is very, very dominant in the processing of these minerals, which means that if China decided to cut off supply to countries or to the world, it would have a massive impact because the U.S.

and its Western allies, Japan, South Korea, and a whole range of countries at the moment are still reliant on China for processing these critical rare earths and critical minerals.

and its Western allies, Japan, South Korea, and a whole range of countries at the moment are still reliant on China for processing these critical rare earths and critical minerals.