Photo: US Treasury Department/AFP
Eurasia
27/06/2025 15:05
Securing the supply of rare earths vital for products such as electric vehicles, hard drives, and national defence equipment has been a top priority for Washington in its talks with Beijing. China, which dominates global production of these elements, began requiring export licences in early April—a move widely seen as retaliation against steep tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.
Following negotiations in Geneva in May, the two sides agreed to temporarily reduce the tit-for-tat tariffs on each other’s goods. China also pledged to ease certain non-tariff countermeasures, but US officials later accused Beijing of breaching the agreement and deliberately delaying export licence approvals for rare earths.
Further discussions in London this month led to an agreement on a framework to advance the Geneva consensus. A White House official told AFP on Thursday that the Trump administration and China had “agreed to an additional understanding for a framework to implement the Geneva agreement.” This clarification came after President Trump, speaking at an event, announced that Washington had just signed a deal relating to trade with China but did not provide further details.
Beijing confirmed on Friday that an agreement had been reached. “It is hoped that the United States and China will meet each other halfway,” a spokesperson for the Commerce Ministry said in a statement. The ministry added that both sides had “further confirmed the details of the framework.” Under the deal, China “will review and approve applications for the export control items that meet the requirements in accordance with the law.” “In response, the US side will cancel a series of restrictive measures against China,” the Commerce Ministry said.
According to Vice Finance Minister Liao Min, Beijing is ready to maintain economic and trade exchanges with Washington based on equality, mutual respect, and mutual benefit, aiming to bring advantages to both nations and the broader global economy.
Separately on Thursday, the White House signalled that Washington might extend a July deadline for imposing higher tariffs affecting dozens of economies. Earlier this year, Trump imposed a sweeping 10 per cent tariff on most trading partners but later suspended additional hikes on numerous economies to allow time for negotiations. That pause is currently set to expire on July 9.
