President Trump announced early Wednesday that the United States had finalized a trade arrangement with China following a stretch of intense negotiations held in London.
“Our deal with China is done, subject to final approval with President Xi and me,” Trump declared on Truth Social, using all capital letters. “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%. The relationship is excellent! Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
“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!!”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick made a statement Tuesday night revealing that Washington and Beijing had established a new framework to advance the Geneva consensus, an earlier agreement from May that significantly lowered US tariffs on imports from China—from 145% down to 30%.
On China’s side, officials agreed to reduce tariffs on American goods from 125% to 10% as part of that same May understanding.
That initial agreement was intended to provide both governments until August 10 to hammer out a broader and more detailed trade pact.
According to a White House official, the 55% tariff figure referenced by Trump on Wednesday includes multiple components: a 10% universal tariff, an added 20% specifically aimed at China over the fentanyl issue, and another 25% from earlier duties such as those under Section 301 and most-favored-nation rules.
Essentially, the 55% total isn’t a sharp shift from what had already been established under the Geneva consensus—it’s more of a comprehensive tally of the multiple tariff measures in place.
However, the implementation of that May truce was put on hold temporarily as both parties accused the other of backtracking on commitments.
American officials were frustrated with China’s delayed action on allowing exports of rare earth elements, which led the Trump administration to impose stricter measures on chemical imports, clamp down on the export of advanced chip design software, and revoke student visas for Chinese nationals.
Lutnick said the latest framework crafted in London added clarity and enforceability to the Geneva understanding, which had originally aimed to ease the heavy tariffs both nations had set during the height of trade tensions.
He noted that the new terms would require China to reduce restrictions on rare earth exports “in a balanced way,” though he didn’t disclose precise details.
Li Chenggang, China’s Vice Commerce Minister, also acknowledged that an agreement had been reached in London, pending final sign-off from Trump and Xi.
The two delegations spent roughly 48 hours in London working through points of contention tied to the stalled Geneva framework, finally closing the talks late Tuesday evening.
Trump shared that he’d had a “very good” phone call with Xi the previous week, even after expressing frustration by saying that Xi is “very tough, and extremely hard to make a deal with.”
Though the agreement reached in London signals progress and a potential return to stability in trade relations, it doesn’t resolve the core policy disagreements that remain between the US and China.
{Matzav.com}
