US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he had agreed to cut China’s fentanyl tariffs to 10 percent after meeting with Xi Jinping in South Korea. He said tariffs on China had been cut to 47 percent from 57 percent — in exchange for Beijing resuming purchases of U.S. soybeans, maintaining rare earth exports and cracking down on the illicit fentanyl trade.
He also said that the dispute between China and the United States had been “settled”. China did not immediately comment on the meeting or its results.
Read also | Trump-Xi meeting LIVE: Trump plans trip to China, cuts 10% fentanyl tariffs
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping was a “great success”. After less than two hours of a crucial bilateral meeting with Xi Jinping, Trump announced five key decisions. They were:
1. Reduction of tariffs: Trump agreed to immediately cut China’s fentanyl tariffs from 20% to 10%. On board Air Force One after talks with Xi, Trump said tariffs on China are dropping from 57 percent to 47 percent after talks with Xi on fentanyl.
“I expect to reduce it because I believe they will help us with the fentanyl situation,” Trump said, later adding, “Relations with China are very good.”
“I believe (Xi) will work very hard to stop the death that is coming,” Trump said.
China this year faced new US tariffs totaling 30 percent, 20 percent of which were tied to its role in the production of fentanyl. But tariff rates were volatile. In April, he announced plans to raise the tariff on Chinese goods to 145 percent, only to abandon those plans as markets retreated.
Then on October 10, Trump threatened a 100 percent import tax over China’s restrictions on rare earths.
2. Ukrainian War: Trump said he and Xi had agreed to “cooperate” on Ukraine.
“Ukraine came very strongly. We’ve talked about it for a long time and we’re both going to work together to see if we get anything,” he told reporters on Air Force One.
Xi Jinping “will help us and we will work together in Ukraine,” Trump said. But he said, “Sometimes you have to let them fight, I don’t think we can do much.”
3. Buying soybeans: Trump said a “large amount” of soybeans would be bought immediately. Beijing will begin buying oilseeds immediately, Trump said, without giving any details on volumes.
His statement came after China resumed soybean purchases just before the meeting. China’s state-owned COFCO has bought three cargoes of U.S. soybeans, two business sources told Reuters — the country’s first purchases of this year’s U.S. crop.
4. Rare Earth Agreement: Trump said he made a rare earth deal with China’s Xi and that China’s rare earth deal is for one year and can be extended. He said China had agreed to maintain rare earth exports “The whole issue of rare earths has been resolved,” he said.
China is the largest producer and processor of rare earth minerals, which are needed to make fighter jets, robots, electric vehicles and other high-tech products. China tightened export restrictions on October 9.
US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met face-to-face for the first time in six years as they sought a truce to end a trade war that has rocked the global economy.
Rare earth export controls announced by Beijing this month were among the key issues discussed during the Trump-Xi meeting in Busan on Thursday.
5. Trump is planning a trip to China: Trump called the meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping “a great success.” He also shared his plans to go to China in April for new negotiations.
“I’m going to China in April and he’s going to come here sometime after that, whether it’s in Florida or Palm Beach or Washington, DC,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One.
“We took a lot of things to the finals” at Thursday’s meeting in Busan, South Korea, Trump added, praising Xi as a “tremendous leader of a very strong country.”
Trump also said he discussed Chinese access to Nvidia Corp.’s chips, but indicated he would not offer access to its most advanced Blackwell line.
