The United States has reached trade deals with four Southeast Asian countries addressing critical rare earth minerals and broader trade imbalances.
U.S. President Donald Trump, currently in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for a trade summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, signed agreements with Malaysia and Cambodia, as well as a framework agreement with Thailand that commits both to working on trade issues.
Under the deals, all three countries would be subject to a continued U.S. tariff rate of 19 percent, with some exempted goods receiving a zero percent rate.
The White House previously announced a similar deal with Vietnam, which will see a 20 percent tariff levied on its exports to the United States.
Vietnam also promised to substantially increase its purchases from the United States to help close a $123 billion trade deficit with the superpower.
Crucially, as part of the deal, Malaysia agreed not to ban exports of rare earth materials to the United States.
The global market for rare earths—which are critical components in modern computer technology and in other sectors—is cornered by China, which dominates the refining of these materials and has among the largest deposits of them in the world.
The U.S. adversary has increasingly sought to crack down on exports of these critical materials, sending global manufacturers scrambling to find alternative sources.
This story will be updated with additional details.
Reuters contributed to this report.
AND No peep out of the leftist media on what a good Job he did..