President Donald Trump on Thursday said he reached a tentative deal after an “amazing” meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping that will offer a reprieve — but not necessarily a long-term solution — from China’s vise grip on rare earths needed for EVs, planes and military equipment.
Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump told reporters that Xi vowed to suspend Beijing’s restrictions on rare earth exports under a “one-year agreement” that will likely be “routinely extended.”
“We have a deal,” said Trump after meeting with Xi in South Korea. “Now in a year we’ll renegotiate the deal, but I think the deal will go on for a long time.”
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who was also aboard the flight, added: “They’re not going to impose the rare earth controls that they proposed, President Trump and President Xi came to an understanding.”
