Red Dragon Files: Trump’s Retreat on Chinese Tariffs — May Embolden China to Screw Us, Again
Wall Street might have surged on the news. But if you’re standing on the factory floor, running a mining site, or trying to build anything in America — the mood is very different.
This last week, we saw President Trump flanked by newly installed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent who announced a dramatic rollback of tariffs on China. Effective immediately, the administration is slashing tariffs on most Chinese goods from a staggering 145% down to 10%, leveling them with the rest of the world. Even the 20% tariff on fentanyl, imposed as a pressure point against the deadly drug flooding into the U.S., is now on shaky ground.
Just weeks ago, Trump declared this a war — an “economic revolution” against the Chinese Communist Party. Now, the revolution appears over. Not with victory — but with a handshake, a press release, and a volatile shift in global trade dynamics.
The Fallout: Rare Earths and the Race We Were Supposed to Win
Among the immediate casualties of this retreat? U.S. mining companies that had been promised a revival.
Perpetua Resources, a mining company in Idaho, dropped 22% in a single trading day. The Trump administration held up this company as a vital asset in ending America’s dependence on Chinese rare earth minerals—essential components for semiconductors, electric vehicles, military equipment, and green tech.
Now? That vision is in jeopardy. China has already begun to reassert its dominance, not just by reopening exports but by prioritizing shipments or rare earths like lithium, etc. to their allied nations. Since so many of these materials end up in chips and other electronic components, it is critical not just for manufacturing their exports but more importantly, their military hardware. The U.S., after months of chest-pounding about independence, finds itself back at Beijing’s mercy.
As I’ve said before, China doesn’t just play this game. They rig the table.
China has historically flooded markets with cheap minerals through state subsidies, below-market pricing, and a willingness to bleed competitors dry, bankrupting rivals before consolidating power. We were supposed to counter that, not yield to it.
Nucor, West Virginia, and the Heart of American Manufacturing
This isn’t abstract theory. I lived in West Virginia, where Nucor is now investing $6 billion in a new steel facility in my home county. Though planned before these latest tariff swings, that plant represents a once-in-a-generation bet on American-made steel, good-paying jobs, and a domestic supply chain that can’t be outsourced.
I spoke recently with a Nucor employee. His comment wasn’t fiery. It wasn’t political. It was honest:
“Uncertainty is not helpful in the steel industry.”
And he’s right. The same is true in mining, tech, energy — anywhere American companies are trying to build something long-term.
How can you plan capital investments, hire workers, or manage supply chains when federal policy flips every 90 days?
Trump came into office promising to protect American industry. This was supposed to be about rebuilding the backbone of industrial manufacturing might — not creating more volatility.
Is There a Strategy Here — or Just Whiplash?
Here’s the part where I hope a deeper plan is in play.
I hope Trump has an ace in his hand. Because let’s be honest — if China does what it’s done before (and they will), the U.S. needs to be ready. That means being ready to snap tariffs back if (and most probably when) China cheats by:
- Re-routing goods through third countries to avoid duties
- Quietly buying embargoed oil from nations like Venezuela
- Weaponizing rare earths again by flooding allies and freezing U.S. buyers out
That’s how this game is played. And if we’re not ready to pull the rug out from under Xi Jinping when the time is right, then what’s the point?
Imagine this:
China empties its warehouses and floods the U.S. with cheap goods under reduced tariffs. Ships are loaded and en route. Then, right as the orders hit U.S. ports, we slam the door shut. Tariffs snap back. Ships turn around. Warehouses at home are already full. Chinese factories? Choked on oversupply. That’s not trade — that’s chess.
But that kind of cold-blooded, high-stakes strategy takes discipline, nerves, and timing. Right now, what we’re seeing from Washington looks more like improvisation than strategy.
Conclusion: Manufacturing Deserves Better Than a Flip-Flop Trade War
It’s not enough to tweet about economic revolutions and slap stickers on hard hats.
If America is serious about rebuilding its industrial core, it needs consistent policy, real enforcement, and the political will to back its workers and producers when it counts.
Right now, domestic mining is reeling. Steel is bracing. Long-term investments are in limbo.
This moment matters.
Trump made promises — to West Virginia, to Idaho, to every manufacturing town that’s been gutted by bad trade deals and global overreach. Those promises are now being tested, not by China, but by Trump’s own retreat.
If the president has a move to make, now’s the time. Otherwise, what we’re witnessing isn’t an economic revolution. It’s surrender.
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These ideas are credited to Bryan Dean Wright of the Wright Report Podcast.