MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Trump and Xi reach limited trade truce, easing restrictions on rare earths and chip firms

The agreement also halves US tariffs on fentanyl-related products from 20 to 10 percent and commits China to purchase 12 million tonnes of American soybeans this year

The White House announced Saturday that the United States and China had reached a new trade agreement aimed at easing tensions between the two economic powers.

Under the deal, Beijing will suspend export controls on key rare earth minerals such as gallium, germanium, and graphite, while Washington will pause planned tariff hikes originally set for November.

“This meeting will lead to everlasting peace and success. God bless both China and the USA!” Trump declared after what he called a “G2 meeting” with Xi.

The agreement also halves US tariffs on fentanyl-related products from 20 to 10 percent and commits China to purchase 12 million tonnes of American soybeans this year, with a minimum of 25 million tonnes annually over the next three years.

Additionally, China will allow the Chinese facilities of Dutch chipmaker Nexperia BV to resume exports — a move expected to ease pressure on global semiconductor supply chains.

While the deal offers a temporary reprieve, analysts caution that the commitments are short-term, lasting only a year. “It’s a truce in the trade war, not its end,” said Josef Mahoney, a professor at East China Normal University in Shanghai.

The agreement follows Trump’s “G2” summit in Busan, where he claimed that “the relationship between the United States and China has never been better.”