U.S. Treasury Secretary: "China Still Restricting Rare Earth Exports...Expecting Implementation of Trade Agreement"

Besant's Interview with Fox News
"China's Rare Earth and Magnet Exports Remain Below Early April Levels"

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant pointed out that China continues to restrict exports of rare earth elements and permanent magnets to the United States, despite a trade agreement reached last month.

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In an interview with Fox News on July 1 (local time), Secretary Besant stated, "Rare earths and magnets are being supplied, but not at the levels seen before April 4." He added, "We hope they will export at a faster pace," and emphasized, "We are confident that China will implement the agreement."

Previously, in early April, China had responded to the U.S. tariff hike policy against Chinese goods by controlling exports through delaying export permits for rare earth elements to the United States.

Subsequently, the United States and China reached a partial agreement, including the lifting of export control measures, during the second high-level trade talks held in London, United Kingdom, on June 9-10. China agreed to lift its export controls on rare earth elements to the United States, while the U.S. decided to ease visa cancellation measures for Chinese students. This followed the first round of talks in Geneva, Switzerland, in May, where both countries agreed to lower tariffs on each other's imports by 115 percentage points, resulting in a 30% tariff by the United States and a 10% tariff by China.

The second round of U.S.-China talks was seen as the Trump administration, under pressure after China restricted exports of rare earth elements essential for advanced industries such as electric vehicle batteries, and the U.S. automotive industry suffered as a result, was the first to propose negotiations to China. Consequently, some observers noted that the Trump administration, which had previously pressured China with extremely high tariffs, ended up exposing its own weakened negotiating position.

At the time, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that China limited the period for allowing rare earth exports to six months, analyzing that significant differences between the two sides still remained.