The Trump administration’s top trade negotiators are set to meet with Chinese officials in early August, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said.
In an interview with CNBC that aired on July 8, Lutnick said that he, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will convene with representatives of the Chinese communist regime in early August to begin broader trade discussions between the two countries.
Lutnick told CNBC the meeting will “start the process of a bigger conversation” and that the U.S. government is “in a pretty good place now” with China.
In June, President Donald Trump announced that the United States had completed a deal with China as representatives of Washington and Beijing wrapped up a bilateral summit in London.
At the time, Trump said the deal would set new tariff rates and include agreements on rare earth elements. During the interview, Lutnick was asked whether that announcement constituted a binding trade pact.
In response, Lutnick said that “we are settled with a 30 percent increased tariff,” adding that during Trump’s first term, the U.S. government imposed a 25 percent tariff on China.
“So, on much of China, they’re paying 55 percent. And, on the balance, they’re paying 30 percent. And that’s where we have settled things for the time being,” Lutnick said.
As for rare earths, Lutnick said magnet export licenses from China have been approved “swiftly and expeditiously.” In response, the United States resumed exports of certain goods, including ethane, software products, and airplane parts.
“We decided we were satisfied with the movement that they were making,” Lutnick said. “We’re sort of balancing our relationship between the two of us.”
Early August also marks the expiration of a 90-day trade pact made between the United States and China in mid-May.
According to a joint statement released by the United States and the Chinese communist regime, Bessent and Greer are obliged to represent Washington, while He Lifeng, vice premier of the State Council, is due to represent Beijing.
On July 7, the Trump administration made significant announcements concerning the tariff schedule Washington is assessing against countries that export goods to the United States.
First, Trump signed an executive order assigning new tariff rates to 14 countries.
Most significantly, Japan and South Korea were assigned 25 percent tariff rates.
Secondly, the White House announced that the negotiation period surrounding new tariffs originally announced in April would be extended to the beginning of August.
