Trump to extend TikTok sale deadline for third time, White House says
U.S. President Donald Trump will again extend the deadline for China-based ByteDance to sell short-form video app TikTok. © Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S. President Donald Trump will extend a June 19 deadline for China-based ByteDance to divest the U.S. assets of short video app TikTok for 90 days despite a law that mandated a sale or shutdown absent significant progress, the White House said on Tuesday.
Trump had already twice granted a reprieve from enforcement of a congressionally mandated ban on TikTok that was supposed to take effect in January. "President Trump will sign an additional executive order this week to keep TikTok up and running," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday.
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Yomiuri Shimbun
16 minutes ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Deal with Beijing Will Speed China's Export of Minerals to the US, Treasury Secretary Says
BANGKOK (AP) — Washington and Beijing have signed a trade agreement that will make it easier for American firms to obtain magnets and rare earth minerals from China that are critical to manufacturing and microchip production, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday. The agreement comes after China retaliated against steep import tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Chinese goods and moved to slow export of rare earth minerals and magnets much-needed by U.S. industrial interests. Bessent said on Fox Business Network's 'Mornings with Maria' that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping 'had a phone call' previously 'and then our teams met in London, ironed this out, and I am confident now that we, as agreed, the magnets will flow.' 'Part of the agreement was tariffs coming down and rare earth magnets starting to flow back to the U.S.,' Bessent said. 'They formed the core of a lot of our industrial base. They were not flowing as fast as previously agreed.' His comments follow President Donald Trump announcing two weeks earlier an agreement with China that he said would ease exportation of magnets and rare earth minerals That pact cleared the way for the trade talks to continue. The U.S. has previously suspended some sales to China of critical U.S. technologies like components used for jet engines and semiconductors. It has also agreed to stop trying to revoke visas of Chinese nationals on U.S. college campuses. Bessent added of critical mineral exports: 'What we're seeing here is a de-escalation.' Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg TV that the deal was signed earlier this week. China's Commerce Ministry said Friday that the two sides had 'further confirmed the details of the framework,' when responding to a question about if China was to speed up exports of rare earths to the U.S. and if the U.S. was to remove some restrictions on China. 'China will, in accordance with the law, review and approve eligible export applications for controlled items. In turn, the United States will lift a series of restrictive measures it had imposed on China,' the ministry said. Initial talks in Geneva in early May led both sides to postpone massive tariff hikes that were threatening to freeze much trade between the two countries. Later talks in London set a framework for negotiations and the deal mentioned by Trump appeared to formalize that agreement — setting the stage for Bessent's comments on Friday. In London, export controls of the minerals eclipsed tariffs in the trade negotiations after China in April imposed permitting requirements on seven rare earth elements, per a Chinese law that applies to all exports, not just those bound for the U.S. market. With the permitting process taking 45 days, the new requirement has caused a pause in shipments, threatening to disrupt production of cars, robots, wind turbines and other high-tech products in the U.S. and around the world. The U.S., meanwhile, took restrictive measures on exports of high tech to China. By the latest agreement, China does not remove the permitting requirement on rare earths but retains the flexibility to dial up or down the approval process as needed. Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Washington-based think tank Stimson Center, said Beijing has only tightened its overall policy on rare earths but has the discretion on how to implement it. 'That's the Chinese style,' she said. 'If all goes well, permit happens. If things go in a wrong direction, like U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, permits gone with wind.' China also has taken steps recently on the fentanyl issue, announcing last week that it would designate two more substances as precursor chemicals for fentanyl, making them subject to production, transport and export regulations. Trump has demanded that Beijing do more to stop the flow of such precursor ingredients to Mexican drug cartels, which use them to make fentanyl for sale in the U.S. He imposed 20% tariffs on Chinese imports over the fentanyl issue, the biggest part of current 30% across-the-board taxes on Chinese goods. The agreement struck in May in Geneva called for both sides to scale back punitive tariff hikes imposed as Trump escalated his trade war and sharply raised import duties. Some higher tariffs, such as those imposed by Washington related to the trade in fentanyl and duties on aluminum and steel, remain in place. The rapidly shifting policies are taking a toll on both of the world's two largest economies. The U.S. economy contracted at a 0.5% annual pace from January through March, partly because imports surged as companies and households rushed to buy foreign goods before Trump could impose tariffs on them. In China, factory profits sank more than 9% from a year earlier in May, with automakers suffering a large share of that drop. They fell more than 1% year-on-year in January-May. Trump and other U.S. officials have indicated they expect to reach trade deals with many other countries, including India. 'We're going to have deal after deal after deal,' Lutnick said.
Kyodo News
an hour ago
- Kyodo News
Japan, U.S. agree to continue tariff talks as July deadline looms
KYODO NEWS - 5 hours ago - 04:47 | All, Japan, World Japanese and U.S. negotiators agreed Friday to continue talks toward a tariff deal that will be beneficial to both countries. Japan's government said its top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick held talks in Washington, with each side reaffirming its position during "fruitful" discussions on trade expansion, nontariff measures and economic security cooperation. The meeting between Akazawa and Lutnick, which lasted about an hour, took place as U.S. President Donald Trump and his trade team increasingly suggest they could give trading partners now in talks with Washington more time to negotiate beyond early July, when his administration's 90-day pause on so-called reciprocal tariffs is set to expire. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that the Trump administration could complete negotiations with key trading partners by Sept. 1. In a Fox Business interview, Bessent said, "I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day" if the United States can make "10 or 12" deals among its 18 highest-priority trading partners and seal "another important 20 relationships" with new agreements. Japan is among the 18 trading partners, also including the European Union, India and South Korea, with which the Trump administration has prioritized making deals. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt also said at a press briefing on Thursday that the 90-day pause that Trump put in place to facilitate negotiations could be extended. On Friday, when asked what he might do with the suspension, set to expire July 9, Trump said, "We can do whatever we want. We could extend it. We could make it shorter." "I'd like to make it shorter. I'd like to just send letters out to everybody: 'Congratulations, you're paying 25 percent,'" he added during a press conference at the White House. The Japanese negotiator arrived in Washington on Thursday for his seventh round of ministerial meetings on tariffs with the United States. He could also hold talks later Friday with Bessent. Akazawa's visit through Saturday comes after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump failed to strike a deal on tariffs last week when they met bilaterally on the sidelines of a Group of Seven summit in Canada. The 90-day pause applies only to country-specific tariffs under Trump's reciprocal scheme, covering about 60 trading partners that have notable trade surpluses with the United States. It does not affect his baseline duty of 10 percent, targeting imports from all parts of the world. Japan is facing an additional country-specific tariff of 14 percent, for a total rate of 24 percent. But the Trump administration's additional tariffs targeting the automotive industry, which are not subject to the pause, have been a particular concern for Japan. The administration raised the tariff rate on imported passenger vehicles by 25 percentage points to 27.5 percent in early April, and the move is already hitting the industry hard. Related coverage: U.S. State Secretary Rubio's 1st visit to Japan eyed for July Trump could extend 90-day tariff pause in July, White House says Japan reiterates that higher U.S. auto tariffs are unacceptable
Japan Times
an hour ago
- Japan Times
Tariff deals could be wrapped up by Sept. 1, Bessent says as talks pick up
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday the Trump administration's various trade deals with other countries could be done by the Sept. 1 Labor Day holiday, citing talks with 18 main U.S. trading partners and new revisions to a deal with China aimed at expediting rare earths shipments. After a week where tariffs took a back seat to the U.S. strike on Iran's nuclear facilities and the massive tax and spending bill in Congress, the Trump administration's trade negotiations have picked up. The United States sent a new proposal to the European Union on Thursday and India sent a delegation to Washington for more talks. "So we have countries approaching us with very good deals," Bessent said on Fox Business Network. "We have 18 important trading partners. ... If we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18, there are another important 20 relationships, then I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day," Bessent said. He did not mention any changes to a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States or see tariffs spike higher, but has previously said that countries negotiating in good faith could get deals. But President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he could extend the tariff deadline or "make it shorter," adding that within the next week and a half, he would notify countries of their tariff rates. "I'd like to just send letters out to everybody: Congratulations. You're paying 25%" tariffs. Bessent said the United States and China had resolved issues surrounding shipments of Chinese rare earth minerals and magnets to the U.S., further modifying a deal reached in May in Geneva. As part of its retaliation against new U.S. tariffs, China suspended exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets, upending supply chains central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world. During U.S.-China talks in May in Geneva, Beijing committed to removing the measures imposed since April 2, but those critical materials were not moving as fast as agreed, Bessent said, so the U.S. put countermeasures in place. "I am confident now that we — as agreed, the magnets will flow," Bessent said, adding that these materials would go to U.S. firms that had received them previously on a regular basis. He did not disclose details of the latest agreement, which Trump administration officials said was reached earlier this week. Efforts to resolve the dispute included a phone call between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping that led to teams from both sides meeting again in London, as negotiators try to end a trade war between the world's biggest economies. China's Commerce Ministry said Friday the two countries have confirmed details on the framework of implementing the Geneva trade talks consensus. It said China will approve export applications of controlled items in accordance with the law. It did not mention rare earths. China has dual-use restrictions in place on rare earths which it takes "very seriously" and has been vetting buyers to ensure that materials are not diverted for U.S. military uses, according to an industry source. This has slowed down the licensing process. The Geneva deal faltered over China's curbs on critical minerals exports, prompting the Trump administration to respond with export controls of its own preventing shipments of semiconductor design software, ethane, engines for Chinese-made aircraft and other goods to China. The U.S.-China negotiations have yet to delve into the Trump administration's core complaints about China's state-led, export-driven economic model with just over six weeks to go before the Geneva tariff truce expires on Aug. 10. News of the latest revision to the China deal comes as Trump has a meeting scheduled Friday with the foreign ministers of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, two African nations that are rich in critical minerals. Indian government sources said that a trade delegation from New Delhi was back in Washington on Friday aiming to sew up a limited U.S. trade deal ahead of the July 9 deadline. Trump administration officials frequently count India among countries with which trade talks are at an advanced stage, along with Japan. But early optimism about a simple deal to reduce India's high tariffs has hit roadblocks over disagreements on U.S. import duties for auto parts steel and farm goods, Indian officials with direct knowledge said. The U.S. Trade Representative's office did not immediately respond to queries on talks with India or the European Union. Trump said that his administration was looking to get a "full trade barrier dropping" deal with India. "I'm not sure that that's going to happen, but as of this moment, we've agreed to that — go into India and trade," Trump said. The latest negotiating activity comes amid signs on Friday that uncertainty over Trump's tariffs is starting to take a toll on the economy. U.S. consumer spending unexpectedly fell in May as the boost from the pre-emptive buying of goods like motor vehicles ahead of Trump's tariffs faded, while monthly inflation maintained a moderate pace of increase. But Wall Street investors took the consumer spending data as another sign that the Federal Reserve may resume rate cuts in July, sending stock indexes back to record highs. Bessent's more optimistic tone on trade also helped shares, and an influential Wall Street economist who had been a skeptic of Trump's tariffs appeared to reverse course. Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, asked in a blog: "Has Trump outsmarted everyone on tariffs?" Slok said that extending the deadline by a year would give countries and U.S. domestic businesses time to adjust to the new world with permanently higher tariffs while reducing uncertainty, which would help markets.
