3. - Bloomberg’s Jenny Leonard
on the open secret in DC, that the PRC side has not lived up to the Trump-Xi deal but the US is keeping quiet about the problems, especially around rare-earths. From the article:
While there’s plenty of internal grumbling and frustration voiced among Trump officials, those familiar with the situation describe a hush culture where the US government is reluctant to publicly admonish China and risk plunging the countries back into a trade war.
Some officials believe Trump is particularly disinclined toward registering any objection that could endanger his plans to host Xi for a lavish state visit in September. There’s also concern that pushing back could prompt the Chinese leader to escalate retaliation in a way that could rock markets ahead of November’s midterm elections or fully turn off access to critical minerals...
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Jamieson Greer, who leads the trade office, have spent a half-dozen meetings with Chinese representatives over the course of a year attempting to iron out sourcing for the crucial inputs for American firms, only to be rebuffed.