US-China export restrictions ease, but Trump powers ahead on tariffs: ‘It's just much easier'

News24

15 hours ago

China said on Friday that the US has eased certain export restrictions in line with a 'hard-won' framework reached at talks in June, warning against 'blackmail and coercion' as the countries attempt to de-escalate a ruinous trade war.
'Currently, both teams are working quickly to implement the results outlined in the London framework', China's commerce ministry said in a statement, referring to the June meetings.
Beijing is now 'reviewing applications for export licences of controlled items that meet the requirements', it said.
'The US side is also taking corresponding actions and has lifted a series of restrictive measures against China, the details of which have been communicated to the Chinese side,' it added.
The world's two top economies agreed to an outline of a deal to walk back from the brink of staggering tariffs at last month's meetings in London, with concessions including Beijing's resumption of key rare earth exports.
Washington has also recently lifted rules for certain exports to China, including by removing licence requirements for shipping ethane to the country, according to a Bloomberg report this week.
China's commerce ministry statement added that 'the London framework was hard-won' - and warned that 'blackmail and coercion will lead nowhere'.
'We hope the United States will... continue to work in the same direction as China (and) further correct its erroneous practices.'
Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Prior to the London talks, Beijing and Washington had agreed to temporarily lower steep tit-for-tat tariffs on each other's products.
But US officials later accused Beijing of violating the pact and slow-walking its approvals of export licences for rare earths - the global production of which is dominated by China.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the United States was 'getting along well with China'.
He plans to start sending letters informing trading partners of their tariff rates as soon as Friday, as negotiations to avoid higher US levies enter the final stretch.
'My inclination is to send a letter out and say what tariff they're going to be paying,' he told reporters on Thursday.
It's just much easier.
Donald Trump
He added: 'We're going to be sending some letters out, starting probably tomorrow.'
His comments come days before steeper duties are set to take effect on dozens of economies - customised to each of them - ranging from Taiwan to the European Union.
These tariffs were part of a broader announcement in April where Trump imposed a 10% duty on goods from almost all trading partners, with a plan to step up these rates for a select group within days.
But he swiftly paused the hikes until 9 July, allowing for trade talks to take place.
Countries have been pushing to strike deals that would help them avoid these elevated duties.
US officials have signalled that there could be a flurry of trade pacts announced in the coming days.
But so far, the Trump administration has only unveiled deals with the UK and Vietnam, while Washington and Beijing agreed to temporarily lower staggeringly high levies on each other's products.