Trump and Xi Agree to a Yearlong Trade Truce

U.S.|Trump and Xi Agree to a Yearlong Trade Truce

President Trump and Xi Jinping struck a deal this morning in their first meeting since Trump opened a trade war against China. Xi agreed to postpone controls on critical rare earth minerals, Trump said. Trump also said the U.S. would reduce tariffs on Chinese goods. It’s, in effect, a yearlong truce in the countries’ intense economic feud.

The deal came after a threat Trump made this morning on social media as he was arriving in Busan, South Korea, to meet with Xi: He said the U.S. would begin testing nuclear weapons for the first time in more than 30 years.

Trump’s post heightened the stakes of an already fraught conversation on trade, and the mood was tense when Trump arrived. The leaders shook hands, then Trump did all of the talking about striking a deal. Xi was silent.

After an hour and a half of negotiations, though, the leaders emerged with an agreement: China, which has tightened its controls on rare earth minerals used to make cars, phones and fighter jets, would postpone those strict new rules for a year. Separately, Trump said he would halve the 20 percent tariffs he had imposed to pressure China to do more to fight fentanyl trafficking.

The deal wraps up Trump’s tour of Asia. Over the past six days, he has hopscotched the continent chasing trade pacts and peace agreements. “Trump came here seeking deals, plain and simple,” says Katie Rogers, a White House correspondent who is traveling with the president. He seemed to get what he wanted. As Trump boarded Air Force One to head back to Washington this morning, he waved and pumped his fist.

Today’s newsletter looks at the Busan meeting and what Trump accomplished.

A meeting with Xi

One of the biggest issues facing Trump and Xi was how to handle China’s extensive restrictions on exports of rare earth metals. These are minerals with obscure names that the rest of the world can’t live without, our colleague Keith Bradsher writes.