U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said China will supply rare earths up front to the U.S. as part of a trade agreement.
He added that magnets and “any necessary rare earths” will be supplied up front by China and that the U.S. will in turn make certain concessions such as allowing Chinese students to attend U.S. colleges and universities.
That echoed comments to reporters from Li Chenggang, China’s international trade representative and a vice minister at China’s Commerce Ministry.
Investors, however, had remained hopeful of a breakthrough following last week’s call between Trump and China’s Xi.
China is the undisputed leader of the critical minerals supply chain, producing roughly 60% of the world’s supply of rare earths and processing almost 90%, which means it is importing these materials from other countries and processing them.
U. S. China will provide the United States with rare earths in advance, according to President Donald Trump on Wednesday. S. . as a component of a commercial contract.
Trump stated in a post on Truth Social that the relationship between the two biggest economies in the world is “excellent.” He also stated that while China is receiving 10% of the total tariffs, we are receiving 55%. “,”.
He also stated that China will provide magnets and “any necessary rare earths” upfront, while the U.S. A. will subsequently make some compromises, like permitting Chinese students to enroll at U. A. university and college institutions.
Final approval between him and Chinese President Xi Jinping is required for the agreement. S. The president described the opportunity as “a great WIN for both countries!!!” and added that he plans to work closely with Xi to open up China to American trade.
A second day of high-level negotiations in London ended with representatives from both sides announcing on Tuesday that a trade agreement had been reached.
“We’ve come to an agreement to carry out the Geneva consensus and the two presidents’ call,” U. S. . Howard Lutnick, the secretary of commerce, told reporters.
That echoed remarks made to reporters by Li Chenggang, a vice minister in China’s Commerce Ministry and the country’s representative for international trade.
The use of rare earth elements and magnets in the defense and automotive industries has become a major point of contention between the two biggest economies in the world.
In early April, China’s Ministry of Commerce responded to Trump’s tariff hike on Beijing’s exports by limiting exports of strategically important minerals.
A preliminary trade agreement reached last month in Switzerland was allegedly broken by both parties. However, investors had held out hope for a breakthrough after Trump and China’s Xi spoke last week.
China is the unchallenged leader of the supply chain for critical minerals, producing about 60% of the world’s rare earth supply and processing nearly 90% of it, meaning it imports and processes these materials from other nations.
U. S. This dominance presents a strategic challenge as we move toward more sustainable energy sources, officials have previously cautioned.
Financial markets have been agitated by Trump’s erratic trade policies in recent months, which have also caused chaos in important ports and strained global supply chains.
Immediately following Trump’s social media post, oil prices surged. Following the news, international benchmark Brent crude futures with August delivery increased $1 per barrel to $67.87. For the session, the contract was last seen to be up about 11.8 percent.
U. S. . Meanwhile, the July-delivered West Texas Intermediate futures were up 2 points, at $66.42.
