US seeking ‘handshake’ on rare earths from China, White House aide says

The three top U.S. trade negotiators are seeking a handshake with China in London talks to seal the agreement on rare earths reached by Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Monday.

"The purpose of the meeting today is to make sure that they're serious, but to literally get handshakes," Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, told CNBC in an interview.

"I expect it to be a short meeting with a big, strong handshake," Hassett added.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were set to meet with Chinese counterparts in London on Monday to defuse the trade dispute between the two superpowers that has widened in recent weeks to include export controls over goods critical to global supply chains.

Chinese export controls on rare earths was a very significant sticking point, Hassett said.

With China controlling most of the global rare earth and magnet supply, its restrictions on sending those to the U.S. could disrupt production for American companies, including automakers, that rely on those materials, he said.

Asked about the Chinese objection to U.S. curbs on semiconductor exports, Hassett said: "Our expectation is that after the handshake, then immediately after the handshake, any export controls from the U.S. will be eased, and the rare earths will be released in volume, and then we can go back to negotiating smaller matters."