US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced this Sunday, October 26, that China is considering postponing restrictions on the export of rare minerals and resuming purchases of North American soybeans, thus avoiding an increase in customs tariffs against the country.
The President of the United States (USA), Donald Trump, threatened to impose 100% customs tariffs on Chinese products from November 1st if China imposed restrictions on the export of rare earths.
“I think we avoided that,” Bessent announced on ABC’s ‘This Week with George Stephanopoulos’.
China “will postpone this for a year while it analyzes the situation,” he added, noting that Beijing also agreed to “purchase substantial agricultural products from American farmers” during talks with Vice Prime Minister He Lifeng.
Earlier, China had announced that it had reached a “preliminary agreement” with the US on trade negotiations, after two days of talks in the Malaysian capital.
The announcement was made by China’s international trade representative, Li Chenggang, although he did not clarify the terms of the “preliminary agreement”.
Li stated that the dialogue between the two sides covered “numerous topics”, giving as examples export controls (which Beijing applies to rare earths), the possible extension of the reciprocal suspension of customs tariffs and anti-drug cooperation against fentanyl.
The United States and China also discussed expanding bilateral trade, as well as US port fees against Chinese vessels.
This agreement comes just a few days before the meeting between the leaders of the two countries, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, on October 30 in South Korea.
Trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing are taking place in a climate of tension, after, in mid-October, China imposed new restrictions on trade in rare earths, in the production and export of which it has a virtual monopoly.
In response, the President of the United States threatened to increase tariffs on Chinese products to 100% from November 1st.
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