US-China reach deal to expedite rare earth exports

Washington: The United States has reached an understanding with China on how to expedite rare earth shipments to the U.S., a White House official said on Thursday, amid efforts to end a trade war between the world's biggest economies.

During trade talks in May in Geneva, China committed to removing non-tariff countermeasures imposed against the United States since April 2, although it was unclear how some of those measures would be walked back.

As part of its retaliation against U.S. tariffs announced by President Donald Trump, China suspended exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets, upending the supply chains central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world.

"The administration and China agreed to an additional understanding for a framework to implement the Geneva agreement," a White House official said on Thursday.

The understanding is "about how we can implement expediting rare earths shipments to the U.S. again", the official said.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was quoted as saying by Bloomberg: "They’re going to deliver rare earths to us" and once they do that "we'll take down our countermeasures."

China's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump earlier said the United States had signed an agreement with China on Wednesday related to trade, without providing additional details. A separate administration official said the U.S.-China agreement related to rare earths took place earlier this week.

China has been taking its dual-use restrictions on rare earths "very seriously" and has been vetting buyers to ensure that materials are not diverted to U.S. military uses, according to an industry source. This has slowed down the licensing process.

The Geneva deal had faltered over China's curbs on critical minerals exports, prompting the Trump administration to respond with export controls of its own preventing shipments of semiconductor design software, aircraft and other goods to China.

Earlier in June, Trump said there was a deal with China in which Beijing would supply magnets and rare earth minerals while the U.S. would allow Chinese students in its colleges and universities.