U.S. Secretary of Commerce: U.S.-China rare earth protocol has been signed, Trump administration launches new round of negotiations with 10 countries.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick ( stated in an interview this morning, on June 27, that after several rounds of negotiations between the U.S. and China, both sides have officially signed a trade agreement, focusing on China's commitment to export rare earth minerals, while the U.S. will gradually lift trade countermeasures against China as a condition in exchange. At the same time, the White House also expects to complete a new round of agreements with another 10 major trading allies within two weeks.

China's rare earth exports are crucial, the U.S. retaliates with trade measures.

Lutnik stated that the most crucial content of the agreement between both parties is China's commitment to export rare earths to the United States. He claimed:

"Once China really starts exporting rare earths to the United States, the U.S. will remove its countermeasures against trade with China."

The United States' trade countermeasures include export controls on plastic raw material ethane, chip software, jet engines, and more. Although the U.S. has recently eased export restrictions on ethane, special authorization is still required to export ethane to China.

According to reports, some American companies that rely on Chinese rare earths are still waiting for China to approve export permits, and their goods have not yet been released.

The rare earth protocol has been signed, but American companies are still stuck on Beijing's permits.

According to the latest report from the International Energy Agency )IEA(, the market share of the top three rare earth mining countries in 2024 increased from 73% to 77%, controlling about 90% of global rare earth refining capacity.

From wind power, electric vehicles to the materials needed for F-35 fighter jets and Patriot missiles, all rely on Chinese rare earths. Due to the high technical barriers for mining and refining, as well as significant environmental costs, the global supply chain is highly concentrated in China. Despite having signed agreements, many American companies that rely on Chinese rare earths are still waiting for official approval from Beijing for export licenses, and goods have not yet been fully released.

Both parties have also established a concrete framework to expedite the rare earth export process. Lutnick pointed out that this is one of the most groundbreaking negotiation results in recent times, indicating a critical turning point in the US-China trade war. However, issues that the United States has long been concerned about, such as fentanyl smuggling and the opening of the Chinese market, are still not included in this agreement, and there are still many variables in the bilateral relationship.

) Note: Rare earth refers to the lanthanide elements numbered 57 to 71 in the periodic table, plus scandium and yttrium, totaling 17 elements. These elements have similar chemical properties and are widely used in high-tech and military fields, especially as indispensable raw materials in the manufacture of magnets, batteries, optics, and precision ceramics. (

Trump promotes a new trade protocol among 10 countries, results to be revealed before 7/9.

In addition to the China protocol, Lutnik also revealed that President Trump plans to complete negotiations with another 10 major trading partners before the tariff protocol deadline on July 9. He emphasized that:

We will prioritize the top 10 key countries, and other countries will be processed in order.

For countries that have not reached a protocol, Trump will issue a notification letter explaining the upcoming tariff arrangements of the United States. Overall, the new round of rare earth protocol between the U.S. and China not only alleviates the supply pressure of rare earths for the global high-tech industry, but also lays the foundation for the Trump administration to promote a new round of multilateral trade negotiations.

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This article Business Secretary: The US-China rare earth agreement has been signed, and the Trump administration has initiated a new round of negotiations with 10 countries, first appearing in Chain News ABMedia.