Overview
- Scott Bessent said negotiators aim to complete a U.S.–China rare‑earths supply agreement by Thanksgiving and voiced confidence Beijing will keep its commitments.
- He said the pact is intended to restore trade flows to pre‑April 4 levels by suspending certain Chinese export restrictions for one year.
- The tentative package also features U.S. tariff reductions and Chinese purchases of at least 12 million metric tonnes of U.S. soybeans by end‑2025 and 25 million metric tonnes in 2026.
- Bessent rejected a report that China would block supplies to U.S. firms with defense ties and said the U.S. has “lots of levers” if Beijing backtracks.
- China controls roughly 70% of rare‑earth mining and over 90% of processing, and the U.S. is boosting domestic capacity with moves such as the Pentagon’s stake in MP Materials, the planned 10X mine‑to‑magnet plant, and eVAC’s new processing center.