Trump Administration Says United States And China Have Reached Rare Earths Agreement

As The Associated Press reported last week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the U.S. and Chinese governments have signed a trade agreement that will “make it easier for U.S. firms to obtain magnets and rare earth minerals from China that are critical to manufacturing and microchip production.” While the deal reportedly was signed early last week, the Trump administration so far has offered few additional details.

Chinese Commerce Ministry explained that, under the agreement, its government will review and approve eligible export applications for controlled items while the U.S. government will lift a series of restrictive measures it had imposed on China. The Associated Press noted “the agreement comes after China retaliated against steep import tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Chinese goods and moved to slow export of rare earth minerals and magnets much needed by U.S. industrial interests.”

In related news: the U.S. Department of the Interior announced last week that it will begin efforts to speed up the search for and development of offshore critical minerals. Specifically:

• To support a more efficient and predictable offshore minerals program, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) will update policies across all stages of development, from early exploration to post-lease operations and production, in order to reduce delays, improve coordination, and provide greater certainty for industry while upholding key environmental safeguards.
• For early-stage exploration, the BOEM will apply existing streamlined environmental reviews whenever appropriate and will extend the duration of prospecting permits from three to five years, giving companies more time to complete their work without unnecessary interruptions.
• To speed up the leasing process, BOEM will start earlier by identifying potential areas for development right away, without first issuing a formal request for information or forming a joint task force with state and federal agencies. The BOEM also will start preparing environmental assessments during the lease sale phase, reserving more detailed environmental impact statements for later planning stages.