Rare Earths For Student Visas: Donald Trump Says US Has Finalised Trade Deal With China

Trump announces Beijing will supply rare earths and magnets under new US-China deal, agreement includes Chinese students returning to US universities.

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China's President Xi Jinping (R) greets US President Donald Trump before a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka. (IMAGE: AFP)

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that a new trade agreement with China is finalised, awaiting final approval from Chinese President Xi Jinping. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the agreement includes the complete supply of rare earth materials and magnets from China. The export of rare earths was a central issue in negotiations in London, according to several news outlets.

Trump added that the US would, in return, permit Chinese students access to American universities, a provision he said was he was “always good with". He also claimed the US is levying a total of 55% tariffs while China receives only 10%, although no official documentation of the deal has been released.

“The relationship is excellent," Trump wrote in capitals, characterising the agreement as mutually beneficial.

“OUR DEAL WITH CHINA IS DONE, SUBJECT TO FINAL APPROVAL WITH PRESIDENT XI AND ME. FULL MAGNETS, AND ANY NECESSARY RARE EARTHS, WILL BE SUPPLIED, UP FRONT, BY CHINA. LIKEWISE, WE WILL PROVIDE TO CHINA WHAT WAS AGREED TO, INCLUDING CHINESE STUDENTS USING OUR COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (WHICH HAS ALWAYS BEEN GOOD WITH ME!)," he wrote.

“WE ARE GETTING A TOTAL OF 55% TARIFFS, CHINA IS GETTING 10%. RELATIONSHIP IS EXCELLENT! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!"

Ensuring access to the vital elements had become a top priority for US officials in talks with Chinese counterparts, when the two sides met last week in London.

“The rare earth issue has clearly… overpowered the other parts of the trade negotiations because of stoppages at plants in the United States," said Paul Triolo, a technology expert at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis, in an online seminar on Monday.

Triolo told news agency AFP that the disruption, which forced US car giant Ford to temporarily halt production of its Explorer SUV, “really got the attention of the White House".

What Are Rare Earths and Where Are They Found?

Rare earths are a group of 17 metals used in everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to military equipment and wind turbines. While not actually rare, they are hard to mine and refine. China dominates the global supply, producing most of the world’s rare earths and controlling nearly all of the processing.

Other sources include the US, Australia, Myanmar, and India, but most still depend on China for refining.

“The Middle East has oil. China has rare earths," Deng Xiaoping, the late Chinese leader whose pro-market reforms set the country on its path to becoming an economic powerhouse, said in 1992.

Since then, Beijing’s heavy investment in state-owned mining firms and lax environmental regulations compared to other industry players have turned China into the world’s top supplier.

The country now accounts for 92 percent of global refined output, according to the International Energy Agency.

Why the Global Rush?

Rare earths are essential to modern tech and defence systems. As demand grows, countries are racing to secure their own supplies. China’s dominance has made rare earths a geopolitical tool, pushing the US and others to diversify and reduce dependence.

The flow of rare earths from China to manufacturers around the world has slowed after Beijing in early April began requiring domestic exporters to apply for a licence, widely seen as a response to US tariffs.

Under the new requirements — which industry groups have said are complex and slow-moving — seven key elements and related magnets require Beijing’s approval to be shipped to foreign buyers.

The slowdown in licence approvals has raised concerns that more carmakers could be forced to pause production as they wait for shipments.

China’s commerce ministry said over the weekend that it had approved some export requests, describing itself as a “responsible major country". It added that it was open to more dialogue with “relevant countries".

But the export bottleneck has underscored how heavily Washington still depends on Chinese rare earths to build defence equipment, even as tensions rise on both trade and security fronts.

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A recent analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies pointed out that a single F-35 fighter jet uses more than 400 kilograms of rare earth elements.

(with additional inputs from AFP)

About the Author

Shankhyaneel Sarkar

Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has covered sev...Read More

Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has covered sev... Read More

Location :
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

First Published:
June 11, 2025, 17:58 IST