US-China trade deal finalised, focus remains on rare earth exports, Washington to ‘take down countermeasures'

Mint

4 hours ago

The US and China finalised a trade agreement that was initially reached last month in Geneva, according to a report by Bloomberg News, citing US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. He also noted that the White House has upcoming plans to negotiate agreements with ten key trading partners.
The deal was signed two days ago, formalising the terms agreed upon during the trade talks, including China's commitment to supply rare earth exports.
In an interview with Bloomberg News, Lutnick said,'They're going to deliver rare earths to us,' and once they do that, 'we'll take down our countermeasures."
The China agreement outlines the terms discussed during trade negotiations between Beijing and Washington this year, which was an important milestone after accusations of breaching previous agreements. However, its success still depends on future actions by both countries, especially China's export of rare earth elements.
Lutnick also informed that the US President Donald Trump has planned to finalise a set of trade deals in the coming two weeks ahead of the reciprocal tariff deadline on July 9.
'We're going to do top 10 deals, put them in the right category, and then these other countries will fit behind,' he said.
However, Lutnick did not give any information on the countries associated with the latest trade deals, though Trump previously hinted at an agreement with India.
Rajesh Agarwal-led team of Indian officials are scheduled to meet the Washington officials in the next two days this week to reach a consensus, the report said.
Trump has decided to send 'letters' to the trading partners highlighting the terms if an agreement is not reached before the deadline. Lutnick mentioned that countries will be categorised into 'proper buckets' on July 9. Trump might also extend deadlines to facilitate talks.
'Those who have deals will have deals, and everybody else that is negotiating with us, they'll get a response from us and then they'll go into that package,' Lutnick said. 'If people want to come back and negotiate further, they're entitled to, but that tariff rate will be set and off we'll go," he added.
On April 2, Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on trading countries but paused it later for 90 days to permit negotiations.
The China accord Lutnick described is far from a comprehensive trade deal that addresses thorny questions about fentanyl trafficking and American exporters' access to Chinese markets.
Following an initial negotiation round in Geneva that led to tariff reductions by both nations, the US and China accused each other of breaching their agreement. After further discussions in London this month, negotiators from both countries stated they had reached a mutual understanding, while approval from Trump and President Xi Jinping is still pending.