A deal on rare earths between the US and China will “hopefully” be completed by Thanksgiving, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in remarks broadcast on Sunday.
Bessent’s comments follow a framework agreement announced last month in which Washington agreed not to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese imports and China would hold off on an export licensing scheme for key rare earth minerals and magnets.
“I am confident that after our meeting in Korea between the two leaders, President Trump, President Xi (Jinping), China will honor their agreements,” Bessent said. Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures” program.
“And I’m confident that — after our meeting in Korea between the two leaders, President Trump, President Xi — that China will honor their agreements.”
But, Bessent warned, if Beijing balks, the US has “plenty of leverage” to retaliate.
The finance minister insisted that rare earths under the deal “will flow freely as they did before April 4,” when China slapped restrictions on the sector and required export licenses for certain products in response to Trump’s sweeping tariffs.
Under the agreement reached by Trump and Xi, the United States will cut tariffs on Chinese products, and Beijing will buy at least 12 million tons of American soybeans by the end of this year and 25 million tons in 2026.
China, which had stopped buying U.S. soybeans in response to Trump’s tariffs, “made peasants out of our big soybean farmers,” Bessent said.
Bessent also disputed a recent Wall Street Journal report that said Chinese officials planned to limit access to rare earths for US companies with ties to the military.
Earlier this month, China suspended a series of export control measures it imposed on Oct. 9, including extended curbs on some rare earth materials and equipment, as well as lithium battery materials and superhard materials, the commerce ministry said in a statement.
The suspensions took effect immediately and would apply until November 10, 2026, the ministry said.
The announcement confirmed and formalized an agreement reached after US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping struck a trade truce last month.
The White House and China’s Ministry of Commerce had both said such an announcement was on the way.
