U.S. and China Seal One-Year Trade Truce With Tariff Cuts and Rare-Earths Pause

Overview

• President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping agreed in Busan to reduce the average U.S. tariff on Chinese goods from roughly 57% to about 47%, including cutting the fentanyl‑related tariff to 10%.
• Beijing will suspend for one year its newly announced export controls on rare‑earth elements, while Washington pauses for a year the planned expansion of export‑control rules to subsidiaries and freezes new port and shipping levies.
• The U.S. canceled a threatened 100% tariff round, and both sides framed the arrangement as a time‑limited stabilization of ties rather than a comprehensive settlement.
• China committed to resume large U.S. soybean purchases—12 million tonnes this year and 25 million tonnes annually for the next three years—according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
• Beijing pledged tougher controls on fentanyl precursors, Trump said he and Xi would "work together" on Ukraine without details, follow‑up leader visits are planned for 2026, and unresolved issues such as TikTok and advanced chips were left off the table.