The United States has urged China to immediately implement its commitments under the Busan trade agreement, putting rare-earth supplies and American farm exports back at the centre of the two countries' economic relationship.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer raised the issue with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in talks on Thursday 6 November, the Treasury Department said. "I emphasized the importance of China fully and immediately honoring its commitments, raised concerns about recent Chinese actions and underscored that progress depends on concrete results," Bessent said.

The Treasury said Washington would "closely assess China's implementation of the arrangement". Reuters reported that the US side was particularly focused on access to rare earths and other critical minerals, along with purchases of American farm goods.

Farm goods and tariff cuts

China's commerce ministry said on Thursday that Beijing was open to buying more US farm goods, but only if both sides implement their reciprocal tariff-cut agreement. The two sides proposed a $60 billion package of reciprocal tariff cuts after a September summit between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in Washington, including roughly $17 billion of US farm goods that China imported in 2024, though the plan has yet to be finalised.

The White House said in May that Beijing had agreed to buy $17 billion of US agricultural goods a year from 2026, with this year's target adjusted on a prorated basis, on top of a soybean purchase commitment made in October last year.

No new tariff decision was announced after the 6 November talks, and no definitive resolution was reached.