U.S. Trade Representative: "No AI Concessions in London Agreement with China"

Greer: "The U.S. Holds More Negotiation Cards"

Jameson Greer, United States Trade Representative (USTR), recently stated at the second high-level trade talks with China held in the United Kingdom that "there were no concessions made regarding artificial intelligence (AI)."

On the 12th (local time), in an interview with Fox News, Greer was asked, "In exchange for China providing rare earth elements, how much did the United States concede in terms of easing controls on Nvidia semiconductors, which are key to the AI race, and on all semiconductors that China wants?" He responded with the aforementioned statement.

Jameson Greer, United States Trade Representative (USTR). Photo by AP News Agency

Greer explained, "We started in Geneva (at the first U.S.-China high-level talks) and agreed to lower the high tariffs we had imposed on each other. China lifted several measures, but the implementation of the (control) removal on rare earth elements was not fast enough, and we discussed developing a framework to implement this final piece." He continued, "We have enforced technology and semiconductor export controls on several countries, including China, for years. These are the most important assets of U.S. technology and a matter of national security. China has always raised this issue, but the London agreement was about various raw material export controls, specifically rare earth elements and magnets."

He stated, "Between the Geneva and London talks, we implemented export control measures on items such as ethane, aircraft parts, and other goods. These measures were used to make the London talks possible and to help China understand the seriousness of the actions it had taken." He added, "The United States holds many (negotiation) cards on this issue. We have secured a better position."

Regarding the lifting of U.S. State Department measures to pressure China, such as the cancellation of visas for Chinese students, Greer said, "Throughout the entire process, I, along with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of the Treasury, have closely coordinated with President Trump on all measures." He added, "Currently, as China accelerates the supply of (rare earth) magnets, we are at the stage of preparing to change the policies introduced over the past one to two weeks."