US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that a US-China rare earths trade deal could be finalised by Thanksgiving.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressed optimism on 16 November 2025 that a trade deal on rare earths between the US and China could be finalised by Thanksgiving.
Bessent’s remarks came after a framework agreement reached last month, under which the US would refrain from imposing full tariffs on Chinese imports. At the same time, China will delay implementing an export licensing system for key rare earth minerals and magnets.
Bessent said he is confident that following the leaders’ recent meeting in Korea, Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping will uphold the agreement. He also rejected a Wall Street Journal report suggesting that China plans to limit access to rare earths for US companies with military links.
Earlier, on 1 November 2025, the Trump Administration released a fact sheet detailing the trade agreement reached between the US and China on 30 October 2025.
This follows the announcement by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on 26 October 2025 that the Trump administration had reached a significant preliminary agreement with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng to ease trade tensions between the two nations.
