China's trade war gambit puts Trump on defense

If international trade is a game of chess, China has the U.S. in check — with few good options for the next move.

Why it matters: The trade war has exposed just how deeply the U.S. economy is at the mercy of an accident of geology — China's supply of the rare earth minerals that power our modern high-tech society.

The big picture: China's control of the global rare earths supply has left the U.S. playing defense in a trade war of its own design. • China loosening up on rare earths exports was a key part of the trade truce the two countries struck in mid-May. But its slow-walking of those exports is now at the heart of another breakdown in the relationship.

Between the lines: The White House says President Trump and China's President Xi Jinping will get on the phone and sort it out, bu