President Trump said Thursday the U.S. would lower its fentanyl-related tariffs on Chinese goods after Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to delay rare earth restrictions for at least a year.
Mr. Trump’s decision to reduce tariffs by 10% leaves the overall rate on many Chinese goods at 47%.
“It’s a one-year agreement, and we’ll extend it after a year,” Mr. Trump said aboard Air Force One.
The president said Mr. Xi agreed to increase Chinese purchases of soybeans, sorghum and other U.S. farm products.
Also, Mr. Xi is expected to crack down on fentanyl precursor chemicals that flow out of China.
Mr. Trump said negotiations over American-made semiconductors remain under discussion.
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Critics had been worried that Mr. Trump would forfeit the U.S. edge in artificial intelligence by letting Nvidia sell advanced “Blackwell” chips to China.
“They’re going to be discussing that with Nvidia,” Mr. Trump said. “We’re sort of the arbitrator or referee.”
Mr. Trump said he planned to go to China in April, and that Mr. Xi would visit sometime after that in Florida or Washington.
The leaders of the world’s largest economies met in South Korea after a roller-coaster year of negotiations over trade.
Both sides reduced sky-high tariffs to avoid a full-scale trade war earlier this year.
Beijing clamped down on rare earth minerals and metals needed for advanced technologies, citing national security concerns and the U.S. decision to impose port fees on Chinese ships. That led to new tensions ahead of the Trump-Xi summit on Thursday.
“He’s a tremendous leader of a very powerful country, and I give great respect to him, and we appreciate the fact that he came to this meeting,” Mr. Trump said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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