There is progress in the trade talks between the US and China
The US and China have made “substantial progress” in the trade talks in Switzerland, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. He added that more details would be announced on Monday. US and China are currently in talks in Switzerland aimed at ending a trade war between the two countries. China has imposed tariffs on US$31 billion worth of goods.
China will probably play hardball in the U.S. tariffs talks
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet his Chinese counterpart He Lifeng in Geneva this week for the first high-level US-China talks to end the trade war, the US said on Thursday. The two countries are set to remove tariffs on each other’s goods but maintain the 20% tariffs that have been imposed. Earlier, both countries had imposed tariffs on each other’s goods.
The Trump Administration has a live update regarding the Mineral Deal
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said he thinks that an American financial interest in the reserves of rare earth minerals is a better security guarantee than a country without one. This comes after President Donald Trump said he won’t guarantee Ukraine’s “safety as part of mineral deal” with the US. Bessent added that he called it an economic security guarantee.