President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States and China had negotiated a trade deal, awaiting only “final approval” from him and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The agreement includes provisions on rare earth minerals, tariffs, and allowing Chinese students to study at American universities. Trump said that a 55% tariff would be placed on Chinese goods coming into the United States, while a 10% tariff would be levied on American goods going to China.
“OUR DEAL WITH CHINA IS DONE, SUBJECT TO FINAL APPROVAL WITH PRESIDENT XI AND ME. FULL MAGNETS, AND ANY NECESSARY RARE EARTHS, WILL BE SUPPLIED, UP FRONT, BY CHINA. LIKEWISE, WE WILL PROVIDE TO CHINA WHAT WAS AGREED TO, INCLUDING CHINESE STUDENTS USING OUR COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (WHICH HAS ALWAYS BEEN GOOD WITH ME!),” Trump posted on Truth Social. “WE ARE GETTING A TOTAL OF 55% TARIFFS, CHINA IS GETTING 10%. RELATIONSHIP IS EXCELLENT! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!”
The announcement comes after American and Chinese officials have been meeting in London to discuss trade. On Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that the two countries had “reached a framework to implement the Geneva consensus and the call between the two presidents,” though the details were unclear.
Last week, Trump spoke to Xi for about 1.5 hours in a conversation that included discussions about rare earth minerals and trade. He had posted on Truth Social that Xi was “VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!”
At the height of the trade war, Trump imposed tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese goods while China hit the United States with 125% tariffs. The two countries later agreed to significantly lower the tariffs while negotiations moved forward.
Trump’s announcement about Chinese students comes as his administration has cracked down on foreign nationals’ access to American universities. Last week, Trump signed a proclamation to restrict international students from being eligible to attend Harvard University.
The administration has also blocked all new student visa interviews in preparation for upcoming social media vetting requirements for all international students. At the same time, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he would aggressively revoke the student visas of Chinese students, especially those with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.