Trump says China's Xi agreed to let rare earth minerals flow to U.S.

U.S. President Donald Trump said connected Friday that Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to let rare earth minerals and magnets travel to the United States, a determination that could little tensions betwixt the world's biggest economies.

Asked by a newsman aboard Air Force One whether Xi had agreed to bash so, Trump replied: "Yes, helium did."

The Chinese embassy successful Washington did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

Trump's remark came 1 time aft a rare call with Xi aimed astatine resolving commercialized tensions that person been brewing implicit the taxable for weeks.

At that time, Trump said determination had been "a precise affirmative conclusion" to the talks, adding that "there should nary longer beryllium immoderate questions respecting the complexity of Rare Earth products."

In different motion of easing tensions implicit the issue, China has granted impermanent export licenses to rare-earth suppliers of the top 3 U.S. automakers, 2 sources acquainted with the substance said.

The U.S. president's apical aides are acceptable to conscionable their Chinese counterparts successful London connected Monday for further talks.

"We're precise acold precocious connected the China deal," Trump told reporters connected Friday.

The countries struck an statement connected May 12 successful Geneva, Switzerland, to rotation backmost for 90 days astir of the triple-digit, tit-for-tat tariffs they had placed connected each different since Trump's January inauguration. Financial markets that had disquieted astir commercialized disruptions rallied connected the news.

But China's decision successful April to suspend exports of a wide scope of critical minerals and magnets has continued to disrupt supplies needed by automakers, machine spot manufacturers and subject contractors astir the world.

Trump had accused China of violating the Geneva statement and ordered curbs connected chip-design bundle and different shipments to China. Beijing rejected the assertion and threatened antagonistic measures.

Rare earths and different critical minerals are a root of leverage for China arsenic Trump could travel nether home governmental unit if economical maturation sags due to the fact that companies cannot marque mineral-powered products.

Since returning to the White House successful January, Trump has repeatedly threatened an array of punitive measures connected trading partners, lone to revoke immoderate of them astatine the past minute. The on-again, off-again attack has baffled satellite leaders and spooked concern executives.