US, China trade deal ‘done’, awaiting presidential approval — Trump

US President, Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the long-negotiated US–China trade deal is “done,” pending only final approval from himself and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Trump posted on Truth Social, “Our deal with China is done, subject to final approval with President Xi and me.”

The announcement follows two days of negotiations between American and Chinese officials in London and a phone conversation last week between the two leaders.

The deal builds on a 90-day détente reached in Geneva last month that reduced tariffs but was later strained by mutual accusations of non-compliance.

“We have reached a framework to implement the Geneva consensus,” US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed.

A photo shared by the US Treasury shows Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Secretary Lutnick, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, and other top officials at the London talks.

Trump offered more details about the agreement: “Full magnets, and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, up front, by China. Likewise, we will provide to China what was agreed to, including Chinese students using our colleges and universities (which has always been good with me!). We are getting a total of 55% tariffs, China is getting 10%. Relationship is excellent!”

He added, “Adding to the China readout, President XI and I are going to work closely together to open up China to American Trade. This would be a great WIN for both countries!!!”

Lutnick said he expects the deal to be approved imminently. “I feel really good about where we got to,” he said.

According to The Wall Street Journal, senior Chinese negotiator Li Chenggang confirmed that both sides “agreed in principle.” US negotiators prioritized accelerating Chinese exports of rare-earth minerals and magnets, while Beijing reportedly asked Washington to relax technology export restrictions.

Lutnick emphasized, “We do absolutely expect that the topic of rare earth minerals and magnets, with respect to the United States of America, will be resolved in this framework implementation.”

Though full terms of the agreement have not been made public, the deal signals renewed cooperation between the world’s two largest economies.

Earlier this month, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce accused the US of backtracking, saying the US “has successively introduced a number of discriminatory restrictive measures against China, including issuing export control guidelines for AI chips, stopping the sale of chip design software (EDA) to China, and announcing the revocation of Chinese student visas.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated US goals to bolster domestic production: “At the direction of President Trump, the Administration is aggressively moving to onshore critical supply chains, including the production of magnets, in the United States.”

With both countries now aligned on a framework, global markets and policymakers await the formal signing of what could be a pivotal trade pact.

(Fox Business)

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