CaliToday (02/11/2025): The White House today released an official communiqué titled: "President Donald J. Trump Secures Agreement on Economic and Trade Relations with China."
This landmark agreement is being hailed as the most significant breakthrough in U.S.-China relations since 2019, encompassing critical areas such as trade, energy, technology, supply chain security, and fentanyl control.
KEY COMMITMENTS FROM CHINA:
Beijing has agreed to suspend the global application of expanded export controls on strategic rare earth metals, which it announced on October 9, 2025. Concurrently, China will issue general export licenses for gallium, germanium, antimony, graphite, and the entire spectrum of rare earth elements effectively lifting the restrictions imposed since April 2025 and October 2022.
China also committed to implementing stringent measures to halt the flow of fentanyl into the United States. This includes a complete cessation of precursor chemical shipments to North America and rigorous control over sensitive chemical exports globally.
Furthermore, Beijing will temporarily suspend all retaliatory tariffs against the United States that were imposed in March 2025. This covers staple agricultural products such as chicken, wheat, corn, cotton, sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products.
Non-tariff retaliatory measures such as the inclusion of U.S. enterprises on China's "unreliable entity list" will also be rescinded.
Notably, China has pledged to purchase at least 12 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans in the final two months of 2025, and a minimum of 25 million metric tons annually during the 2026–2028 period. Concurrently, it will reopen imports of U.S. sorghum and hardwoods.
China will also permit the resumption of operations for Nexperia's factories within China, ensuring the global circulation of "legacy" industrial chips.
Additionally, Beijing committed to ending retaliatory measures related to the U.S. Section 301 investigation into China's maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors, as well as lifting sanctions on American shipping companies.
The agreement also includes an extension of import tariff exemptions for U.S. goods until December 31, 2026, and the cessation of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations targeting U.S. companies within the semiconductor supply chain.
ACTIONS FROM THE UNITED STATES:
The United States will reduce by 10 percentage points the import tariffs imposed on Chinese goods (originally enacted to curb fentanyl flow), effective November 10, 2025.
Concurrently, Washington will maintain the current 10% tariff level but will suspend any further increases for a period of one year, until November 10, 2026.
President Trump has also directed the extension of Section 301 tariff exemptions through 2026 and a one-year pause on the enforcement of expanded export control regulations against designated Chinese companies on restricted lists.
In parallel, the U.S. will temporarily suspend for one year retaliatory measures under the Section 301 investigation into China's maritime sector, allowing time for bilateral negotiations while continuing strategic cooperation with South Korea and Japan to rebuild America's shipbuilding industry.
Experts view this agreement as bearing the characteristic hallmarks of President Trump's "pragmatic economic diplomacy," combining robust tariff pressure with strategic negotiation leverage to compel Beijing to concede on multiple fronts – from narcotics and chips to strategic resources.
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Sources: The White House, U.S. Department of Commerce.