Bessent: Hope to Have Rare Earths Deal Signed by Thanksgiving
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said once the agreement with China on rare earth minerals is signed, he expects "that the magnets will flow freely as they did before April 4."
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Bessent was answering questions on Nov. 16 from Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, who was asking him whether companies that make military planes, drones or other materiel that uses the magnets will be barred from receiving magnets. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that China is planning to implement a validated-end-user system, similar to the U.S. regime, which would make exports easier for commercial users but would cut off exports to military contractors.
Bessent replied, "We haven't even finished the agreement, which we hope to have done by Thanksgiving." He also called the report inaccurate.
He said given President Xi Jinping's respect for President Donald Trump, "I am confident that they will honor their agreement.
"And if they don’t, we have lots of levers. But to come out and say this before the agreement’s even inked, I think, is irresponsible," he said.
Bartiromo seemed unconvinced, then asking if the Chinese really will buy American soybeans at scale. She asked: "Are they going to double cross us on that as well?"
Bessent said, "We have to go into this believing that President Xi will keep his word to President Trump."
The interview also touched on $2,000 tariff dividends for moderate income Americans that Trump has touted. Bessent said, "We need legislation for that."
On Nov. 17, Trump told reporters at the White House that those checks will go out in the middle of next year.