A volley of tariffs were introduced, raised and reduced in the year’s first half, igniting retaliation from Chinese leader Xi Jinping. That truce showed signs of fizzling this week, though, with China announcing strict new limits on exports of rare earth minerals crucial to high-tech products. Trump, in turn, threatened an additional 100% tax on Chinese imports by Nov. 1 and export controls on American software. But China may sense an opening, with Trump challenged by a government shutdown and the impacts of the ongoing trade war. American soybean farmers who long relied on Chinese sales are now being passed over for exports from Brazil, Argentina and elsewhere.
