US-China trade agreement signed, 10 deals imminent, says Commerce Secretary Lutnick

WASHINGTON – The US and China finalised a trade understanding reached in May in Geneva, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on June 26, adding that the White House has imminent plans to reach agreements with a set of 10 major trading partners.

The China deal, which he said was signed two days earlier, codifies the terms laid out in trade talks between Beijing and Washington, including a commitment from China to deliver rare earth minerals used in everything from wind turbines to jet planes.

“They’re going to deliver rare earths to us” and, once that is done, “we’ll take down our countermeasures”, Mr Lutnick told Bloomberg News in an interview.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry on June 27 said Beijing will “review and approve eligible applications for export of controlled items in accordance with the law”, and the US side will cancel restrictive measures, which it did not specify on.

Asian stocks and European futures advanced, and a gauge of global equities reached another record high, in part on trade deal optimism. 

The China agreement sets out the terms laid out in trade talks between Beijing and Washington in 2025 – a milestone after both sides accused each other of violating the terms of previous handshake accords. Yet it still hinges on future actions by both nations,

including China’s export of rare earth materials. 

Mr Lutnick told Bloomberg Television that US President Donald Trump was also prepared to finalise a slate of trade deals in the coming two weeks in connection with his July 9 deadline to reinstate higher tariffs he paused in April. 

“We’re going to do top 10 deals, put them in the right category, and then these other countries will fit behind,” he noted.

Mr Lutnick did not specify which nations would be part of that first wave of trade pacts, though, earlier on June 26, Mr Trump suggested the US was nearing an agreement with India. 

A team of Indian trade officials, led by chief negotiator Rajesh Agarwal, is slated to hold meetings with officials in Washington over two days this week to resolve differences and find common ground, Bloomberg News reported.

Japan’s chief trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa also has more talks coming up in Washington.

Before leaving for his seventh round of trade negotiations with US counterparts, he told reporters Japan cannot accept the US’ 25 per cent tariffs on cars.

Asked about Mr Lutnick’s remarks on 10 possible deals and the current state of US-Japan trade talks at a regular press conference on the morning of June 27 in Tokyo, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said he was aware of the report but declined to comment on it.

“Japan and the US are currently discussing the series of US tariff measures, and we will continue to make our utmost efforts on the matter as our top priority,” he said.

Dictating terms

The US President has also said that he will ultimately send “letters” to countries dictating trade terms if agreements are not reached in time. Countries will be sorted into “proper buckets” on July 9, Mr Lutnick added.

Mr Trump could also extend deadlines to allow for more talks. 

“Those who have deals will have deals, and everybody else that is negotiating with us, they’ll get a response from us, and then they’ll go into that package,” Mr Lutnick said. “If people want to come back and negotiate further, they’re entitled to, but that tariff rate will be set and off we’ll go.”

Mr Trump announced so-called reciprocal rates – reaching as high as 50 per cent – on April 2 but later paused the bulk of them for 90 days to allow for negotiations.

It is not yet clear how comprehensive those deals will be. Trade agreements typically take years – not mere months – to negotiate.

An earlier pact with Britain still leaves major questions undecided, including a discount for some imported metals. 

The China accord Mr Lutnick described is far from a comprehensive trade deal that addresses thorny questions about fentanyl trafficking and American exporters’ access to Chinese markets. 

After an initial round of negotiations in Geneva resulted in a reduction in tariffs imposed by both countries, the US and China accused each other of violating their agreement. After subsequent talks in London in June, negotiators announced they arrived at an understanding, pending approval from Mr Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Mr Lutnick said on June 26 that under the agreement inked two days earlier, US “countermeasures” imposed ahead of the London talks would be lifted – but only once rare earth materials start flowing from China. Those US measures include export curbs on materials, such as ethane used to make plastic, chip software and jet engines.

The agreement comes as the US moves to ease restrictions on exports of ethane, with the Commerce Department earlier this week telling energy companies they could load that petroleum gas onto tankers and ship it to China – but not unload it there without authorisation.

Bloomberg previously reported that American firms reliant on those Chinese minerals are still waiting on Beijing’s approval for shipments. BLOOMBERG