Latest Trade "Deal" With China Highlights U.S. Weakness

For the second time in two months, President Donald Trump has touted a new “deal” with China — though the agreement closely mirrors the one the two nations reached last month, Politico reporters Daniel Desrochers, Ari Hawkins, Phelim Kine, and Megan Messerly reported.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the U.S. and China had agreed to reduce the retaliatory actions taken. I Photo: U.S. Department of Commerce Facebook

Early readouts suggest the Trump administration has made little progress on broader trade goals.

“The two sides have already met once to try to de-escalate and basically agree to stop punching each other in the face with extreme tariffs,” said Emily Kilcrease, a former deputy assistant U.S. Trade Representative.

“And now they've come back together to say, ‘Yes, we've already agreed we should stop punching each other in the face. Let’s actually stick to it this time.’”

Speaking two days of talks, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the U.S. and China had agreed to reduce the retaliatory actions taken since their May 12 framework was announced.

The new agreement still needs approval from both Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and many details remain unresolved.

Critics say the deal disproportionately favors Beijing.

While the U.S. has agreed to ease export controls on certain sensitive technologies and resume issuing student visas for Chinese nationals, China has merely reaffirmed a previous commitment to lift its blockade on critical mineral exports — a pledge it already made a month ago.

China controlled nearly 70% of global mine production of critical minerals in 2024, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

“This is another band-aid,” said Derek Scissors, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and chief economist at the China Beige Book. “The Chinese can change their mind in six months—over something as simple as a comment about the Party—and cut off rare earths again.”