By David Lawder
PARIS, May 19 (Reuters) – The Trump administration is “not in a rush” to extend a tariff and critical minerals trade truce with China that ends in November, as there is time to renew it in meetings later this year, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday.
Bessent told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of a G7 finance meeting that he believes China will accept the restoration of prior U.S. tariff rates through new Section 301 duties, as long as they don’t go higher. China had in recent months had “gotten a deal” on lower tariffs as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision striking down President Donald Trump’s global emergency duties, he said.
“I think we’re not in a rush to extend it,” Bessent said of the November 2025 tariff truce. “Things are stable.”
He added that China’ has “been satisfactory, but not excellent in terms of their fulfillment on their side on critical minerals. So we’re seeing them again.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to travel to Washington to meet President Donald Trump at the White House in September. Prior to that summit, Bessent said that he will meet with his counterpart, Chinese President He Lifeng, to work out more details on trade matters.
(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Richard Lough)
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