Trump Locks In China Trade Deal, Keeps Pressure On Beijing

The Trump administration has finalized its trade deal with China, but isn’t lifting countermeasures just yet, Bloomberg News reported Thursday evening.

The agreement cements commitments from Beijing to export rare earth materials vital to U.S. manufacturing, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg. However, Lutnick made clear that U.S. countermeasures, such as export curbs on ethane and chip software, would only be lifted after China begins delivering on its promises.

The deal formalizes the terms initially negotiated in Geneva last month, which quickly unraveled after both sides accused each other of non-compliance. Talks resumed in London earlier this month, culminating in a new agreement pending approval from President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Chinese officials also confirmed the trade deal had been formalized, Bloomberg reported.

“In recent days, after approval, both sides have further confirmed details on the framework,” a Chinese official told the outlet. “The Chinese side will review and approve eligible applications for export of controlled items in accordance with the law. The US side will correspondingly cancel a series of restrictive measures taken against China.”

Despite pledging in London to ease export restrictions on rare earth magnets, China has reportedly been stalling the approval of licenses through bureaucratic processes, causing significant disruptions to supply chains. Moreover, companies have reported being asked to reveal sensitive information in license applications — such as customer identities and even the designs of components using their magnets — raising concerns given China’s history of intellectual property theft, as reported by The Wall Street Journal yesterday.

The White House did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment regarding the finalized deal. However, a White House official told the DCNF yesterday that the administration “continues to monitor China’s compliance with the agreement reached at Geneva.”

The administration is also preparing to finalize up to 10 new trade agreements with global partners by the July 9 deadline set by Trump, Lutnick told Bloomberg. Countries that fail to reach an agreement by then will face new tariff schedules and “letters” outlining U.S. trade demands, Lutnick said.

“Those who have deals will have deals, and everybody else that is negotiating with us, they’ll get a response from us and then they’ll go into that package,” Lutnick said. “If people want to come back and negotiate further, they’re entitled to, but that tariff rate will be set and off we’ll go.”