The United States and China have reached on a trade framework agreement following two days of negotiations in London, according to Chinese state media CGTN. China’s trade negotiator Li Chenggang said the agreement outlines steps to implement the understandings reached during phone calls between the leaders of the two countries on June 5 and during their meeting in Geneva last month.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick acknowledged the progress made in the trade talks, calling the new framework an important “first step”. He noted that clearing up tensions with China was necessary to move forward. According to Lutnick, the agreement reached with China in London includes a plan that could help resolve issues related to restrictions on rare earths and magnets.
He said the US delegation would now present the framework to President Donald Trump for his approval, with the goal of putting it into effect soon after. Lutnick also underlined the impact of direct communication between leaders, suggesting that the conversation between Xi Jinping and Trump played a key role in changing the course of the negotiations. “Xi and Trump’s call changed the outcome,” said Lutnick.
After meeting in Switzerland, the US and China had agreed to cut tariffs on each other’s products for 90 days, which led to a positive start. But things soon became tense again due to two key issues like China’s tight control over rare earth minerals and its efforts to access American-made semiconductor technology.
Solving the issue of rare earth minerals
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said that solving China’s restrictions on sending rare earth minerals and magnets to the US is a key part of the new trade deal. He also mentioned that the US had earlier put certain measures in place when those materials weren’t being exported, but now those restrictions are expected to be lifted gradually, in line with what President Trump had called a fair and balanced approach.
“Also, there were a number of measures the United States of America put on when those rare earths were not coming,” Lutnick said. “You should expect those to come off, sort of as President Trump said, in a balanced way,” he added, reported Reuters.