U.S. President Donald Trump has declared a provisional agreement with China over rare earth minerals, claiming the two economic giants have reached a deal “subject to final approval” following intense talks in London.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump stated that China had agreed to resume exports of magnets and rare earth elements critical to U.S. manufacturing sectors, from smartphones to electric vehicles. In return, the U.S. will scale back proposed visa restrictions on Chinese students.
“Our deal with China is done, subject to final approval from President Xi and me,” Trump wrote.
The announcement follows two days of negotiations triggered by growing frustration over slow Chinese export releases and tit-for-tat tariff hikes. Despite talk of a breakthrough, Trump’s statement and administration remarks suggest the agreement is more a framework than a finalized treaty.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said both sides had reached a “framework to implement the Geneva consensus,” referring to a truce struck in May that temporarily eased tariffs and set a 90-day timeline to negotiate a comprehensive trade pact. Lutnick told CNBC the talks had “cleaned up” outstanding issues from that agreement, but acknowledged more work remains.
China’s Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang echoed the sentiment, confirming the sides had “in principle” agreed on steps to implement the truce terms.
The rare earths issue is central to the negotiations. The U.S. had accused Beijing of stalling exports of vital minerals, while China had bristled at U.S. restrictions on semiconductor technologies and planned limits on student visas.
While the new agreement addresses some friction points, it leaves others unresolved. Trump signaled plans to set unilateral tariffs on additional trade partners in the coming weeks, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted that many current trade discussions may extend past the administration’s self-imposed deadlines.
Market reaction to the news was muted, with analysts cautioning against overreading the limited scope of the deal. “This appears to be more of a stabilization than a breakthrough,” said Terry Haines of Pangaea Policy. “It resets the Geneva pause, but doesn’t move the needle much toward a larger trade reconciliation.”
Whether this tentative deal marks a turning point or just another pause in an ongoing economic standoff remains to be seen. For now, both Washington and Beijing appear to have bought more time, if not much certainty.
Written By Rodney Mbua
