US-China Truce Signed, 10 Trade Deals Imminent, Lutnick Says

A container ship sails out of the Yangshan Deepwater Port in Shanghai. Photo by Qilai Shen /Bloomberg

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(Bloomberg) — The US and China finalized a trade understanding reached last month in Geneva, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said, adding that the White House has imminent plans to reach agreements with a set of 10 major trading partners.

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The China deal, which Lutnick said had been signed two days ago, codifies the terms laid out in trade talks between Beijing and Washington, including a commitment from China to deliver rare earths used in everything from wind turbines to jet planes. 

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

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The China agreement sets out the terms laid out in trade talks between Beijing and Washington this year — a milestone after both sides have 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. 

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

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

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

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The president has also said that he will ultimately send “letters” to countries dictating trade terms if agreements aren’t reached in time. Countries will be sorted into “proper buckets” on July 9, Lutnick added. Trump could also extend deadlines to allow for more talks. 

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“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,” Lutnick said. “If people want to come back and negotiate further, they’re entitled to, but that tariff rate will be set and off will go.”

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The president announced so-called reciprocal rates — reaching as high as 50% — on April 2 but later paused the bulk of them for 90 days to allow for negotiations.

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It’s not yet clear how comprehensive those trade deals will be. Trade agreements typically take years — not mere months — to negotiate. An earlier pact with the UK still leaves major questions undecided, including a discount for some imported metals. 

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

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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 this month, negotiators from the US and China announced they had arrived at an understanding, pending approval from Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.