President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping reached a trade truce during a high-stakes meeting in South Korea on Thursday, de-escalating a dispute over rare earth elements that had threatened to push the world’s two largest economies into a full-blown trade war.
China has agreed to pause for one year the sweeping export controls on rare earths announced on Oct. 9 that had touched off the dispute.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that the rare earths agreement is a one year deal that will be “very routinely extended as time goes by.” The president said he plans to visit China in April and Xi will come to the U.S., either Palm Peach, Florida or Washington D.C., at a later date
“We have a deal,” Trump said. “Now, every year we’ll renegotiate the deal, but I think the deal will go on for a long time, long beyond the year. But all of the rare earth has been settled, and that’s for the world.”
Trump said he cut tariffs effective immediately on China related to fentanyl to 10% from 20% previously. This reduces the overall rate on Chinese goods to around 47%, the president told reporters. Trump had previously threatened the slap China with 100% tariffs on Nov. 1 over its rare earth controls.
