On June 26, a White House official confirmed that the US and China had reached an agreement to boost rare earth exports from China to the US. This is considered a step forward in efforts to ease prolonged trade tensions between the two largest economies in the world.
US President Donald Trump said the deal was signed on June 25, but did not disclose details. He also left open the possibility of a separate deal to "open the door" to cooperation with India in the coming time.
US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said China has agreed to resume rare earth supply, in return, the US will lift some corresponding countermeasures.
Rare land issues have become a focus of US-China trade tensions after Beijing imposed many measures to limit exports of important raw materials, including rare earths and magnetes, to meet new tariffs from Washington.
This move significantly affects the global supply chain in the fields of automobiles, aerospace, chip manufacturing and defense.
China is tightening control of rare earth exports, especially the review of purchasers. Strengthening supervision has caused the licensing process to be prolonged, causing disruptions to many industries.
In the Geneva negotiation round in May, China pledged to lift non- tariffs on the US from February 2, but the specific way to do so is still unclear.
The deal was previously held to a stalemate as China limited exports of strategic minerals, prompting the US to respond by controlling exports of chip design software, aviation equipment and high-tech products.
Since the beginning of June, the situation has begun to change positively when some Chinese enterprises have been granted temporary licenses to resume rare earth exports to serve major US automakers.
Accordingly, China is also committed to maintaining exports of magnetes and rare earths, while the US will maintain visa policies for Chinese students at universities.
Although the new agreement is a positive sign, observers assess that the path towards a comprehensive trade agreement between the US and China still faces many challenges, both in terms of politics and long-term strategy.
