US and China Reach Deal to Ease Rare Earth Mineral Export Curbs After Talks in London
United States and Chinese authorities have settled on a framework to de-escalate trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies after a series of tariff conflicts. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the structure put “meat on the bones” of a deal reached last month in Geneva to relieve vindictive tariffs. The two sides had been seeking to find a way to resolve disputes over mineral and technology exports that shook a fragile truce on trade reached after talks in Geneva last month. Both sides made the announcement at the end of two days of talks in London that finished up late on Tuesday. Leading US and Chinese economic authorities were pushing for an agreement that would ease dueling export controls that threatened to unravel the Geneva accord that cut tariffs back from triple-digit levels. The authorities will now take the framework to their respective presidents for approval. Mr. Lutnick stated the deal should result in China reducing restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets. “Initially, we had to get sort of the negativity out, and now we can move forward,” he told reporters after the meeting. He said both sides would move forward with the framework pending its approval by US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. “Once the presidents approve it, we will then seek to implement it,” Mr. Lutnick added. The talks in London followed a phone call between Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi last week to try to calm the waters after both nations engaged in a major tit-for-tat tariff war earlier this year. Li Chenggang, a vice minister of commerce and China’s international trade representative, said the two sides had agreed in principle on a framework for implementing the consensus reached on the phone call and at the talks in Geneva. Mr. Lutnick indicated Washington’s readiness to ease the US measures imposed in response to Chinese curbs on exports of rare earths once the supplies of the minerals increased. China holds a near-monopoly on rare earth magnets, a critical component in electric vehicle motors, and its decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of crucial minerals and magnets disrupted global supply chains and sparked alarm in boardrooms and factory floors worldwide. “Also, there were a variety of measures the United States of America put on when those rare earths were not coming,” Mr. Lutnick said. “You should expect those to come off, sort of as President Trump said, in a balanced way.” The two countries announced on 12 May that they had agreed to a 90-day suspension of most of the 100 percent-plus tariffs imposed on each other in an escalating trade war that had sparked fears of a recession. Since the Geneva talks, the US and China have exchanged heated words over advanced semiconductors that power artificial intelligence, visas for Chinese students at US universities, and rare earth minerals essential to carmakers and other industries. Customs data published on Monday revealed that China’s exports to the US plunged 34.5 percent in May, the sharpest drop since the Covid pandemic. Wendy Cutler, a former US trade negotiator, said the disputes had eaten away 30 of the 90 days the two sides had to try to resolve their differences. “The US and China lost valuable time in restoring their Geneva agreements,” said Ms. Cutler, now vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute.
