President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s meeting later this week could shed light on the fate of a trade truce that’s allowed the movement of China’s rare earths to the U.S.
A senior U.S. official told reporters during a call on Sunday that a one-year trade agreement between the U.S. and China, which freed up exports of rare earths to American companies, is still in effect and could be extended but that the timing is unclear.
China throttled back exports of rare earths last year, rattling supply chains tied to automotive, aerospace, medical device, wireless technology equipment and other advanced manufacturing industries. The two countries reached a deal in Busan, South Korea, last fall, that led to the U.S. lowering tariffs on China while Beijing eased restrictions on exports of rare earths and critical minerals like gallium, germanium, antimony and graphite. The deal expires in early November.
“It’s still in effect, it doesn’t expire yet,” the U.S. official said. “We have had conversations with the Chinese side about that agreement, Busan, and specifically, whether to extend our arrangements with respect to rare earth. It’s not clear yet if that’s going to be extended now or will need to be extended later.”
