US says China ‘deferred’ call after expanding rare earth export controls

US Trade Representative Jamison Greer said on Sunday that the United States reached out to China to schedule a phone call after an announcement the it was expanding its rare earths export controls but Beijing deferred the action.

“I can tell you that we were not notified, and quickly, as soon as we found out from public sources, we reached out to the Chinese to have a phone call, and they deferred,” Greer told Fox News' on its "Sunday Briefing," program.

What was China's move?

China tightened its rare earth export controls on Thursday, expanding restrictions on processing technology and clearly stating its intent to limit exports to foreign defence and semiconductor manufactures.

The new measures, announced by the Ministry of Commerce, dramatically increase China's bargaining power i