As part of a trade deal between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, China will ’effectively eliminate’ all curbs on rare earths’ exports, remove tariffs on US agricultural products, and resume export of chips critical to automobile industry, according to the White House.
The White House has said that China has agreed to “effectively eliminate” all curbs on the export of rare earth elements.
In a fact sheet, the White House said that President Donald Trump reached a deal with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during their meeting in South Korea last week.
Under the deal, China will effectively eliminate current and proposed export controls on rare earths and critical minerals, end retaliation against US semiconductor manufacturers and other major US companies, and open China’s market to US soyabeans and other agricultural goods.
China will end its various investigations targeting US semiconductor companies, including its antitrust, anti-monopoly, and anti-dumping investigations, the White House said.
The White House described the deal as a “massive victory that safeguards US economic strength and national security”.
On its part, the Trump administration will lower tariffs on China by 10 per cent effective from November 10, suspend the threatened rise in tariffs for one year (until November 10, 2025), and extend tariff exclusions for one year, according to the White House
The administration will also suspend the implementation of tightening of export controls through a rule titled ‘Expansion of End-User Controls to Cover Affiliates of Certain Listed Entities’ for one year. Under this rule, export controls would have extended to the designated entity’s foreign affiliates —subsidiary or company— as well those were 50 per cent or more owned by it.
An uneasy truce, not a final deal
Despite the White House’s celebratory tone, the Trump-Xi agreement is more of an uneasy truce instead of a final deal.
Instead of removal of tariffs and export controls, they have been put on hold for a year. Trump has previously said that the United States and China will hold negotiations for the arrangement’s extension every year.
Trump previously said that the rare earths’ deal was a one-year deal that will be “very routinely extended as time goes by”.
“We have a deal. Now, every year we’ll renegotiate the deal, but I think the deal will go on for a long time, long beyond the year. But all of the rare earth has been settled, and that’s for the world,” said Trump on Friday.
As per the fact sheet, China will buy at least 12 million metric tons of US soyabeans during the last two months of 2025 and at least 25 MMT of US soyabeans in each of 2026, 2027, and 2028. China will resume buying of US sorghum and hardwood logs.
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