Late last month, the US and China agreed to pause their trade disputes for one year while they work on a comprehensive agreement. The interim framework addressed retaliatory tariffs, rare earth elements, shipbuilding, soybeans, and fentanyl precursor chemicals. Most notably for aerospace and defense, the parties came to a truce on rare earth elements. All these actions went into effect on November 10.
The US:
- Lowered the special “fentanyl‑related” tariffs on Chinese imports by 10 percentage points from 20% to 10%
- Will continue to suspend increased reciprocal tariffs until November 10, 2026
- Postponed other trade actions
China:
- Postponed retaliatory tariffs and other retaliatory actions that it has announced since March 4, 2025 for one year
- Postponed the implementation of its new export controls on rare earth elements
- Agreed to issue general licenses valid for exports of rare earths, gallium, germanium, antimony, and graphite while keeping in place restrictions on military end users and retaining the option to tighten controls later.
