London Talks Disappoint, Exchanging Rare Earths for Access to US Colleges
By Reuters | 11 Jun, 2025

Untenable and punitive 55% tariffs would remain on Chinese imports while the US would get access to some rare earths, if Trump's account is accurate, and if the deal is approved by Xi.

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the U.S. deal with China is done, with Beijing to supply magnets and rare earth minerals while the U.S. will allow Chinese students in its colleges and universities. 

"WE ARE GETTING A TOTAL OF 55% TARIFFS, CHINA IS GETTING 10%. RELATIONSHIP IS EXCELLENT!" Trump wrote on Truth Social without elaborating.

A White House official said the agreement allows the U.S. to charge a 55% tariff on imported Chinese goods. This includes a 10% baseline "reciprocal" tariff, a 20% tariff for fentanyl trafficking and a 25% tariff reflecting pre-existing tariffs. China would charge a 10% tariff on U.S. imports, the official said. 

Trump said the deal is subject to final approval by him and President Xi Jinping. 

"FULL MAGNETS, AND ANY NECESSARY RARE EARTHS, WILL BE SUPPLIED, UP FRONT, BY CHINA. LIKEWISE, WE WILL PROVIDE TO CHINA WHAT WAS AGREED TO, INCLUDING CHINESE STUDENTS USING OUR COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (WHICH HAS ALWAYS BEEN GOOD WITH ME!)," Trump said. 

U.S. and Chinese officials said on Tuesday they had agreed on a framework to get their trade truce back on track and remove China's export restrictions on rare earths while offering little sign of a durable resolution to longstanding trade tensions.

At the end of two days of intense negotiations in London, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters the framework deal puts "meat on the bones" of an agreement reached last month in Geneva to ease bilateral retaliatory tariffs that had reached crushing triple-digit levels

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.

Trump's shifting tariff policies have roiled global markets, sparked congestion and confusion in major ports, and cost companies tens of billions of dollars in lost sales and higher costs.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Katharine Jakckson, Brendan O'Brien; Editing by Katharine Jackson and Doina Chiacu)