Trump signs pacts with Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia for critical minerals — Here's what is in the deals

US President Donald Trump on October 26 signed trade agreements with three Southeast Asian countries, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia for critical minerals, in a bid to combat the rare earth limits announced by China, as per reports.

The announcement came during Donald Trump's visit to Kuala Lumpur for the 13th Association of Southeast Asian Nations-United States (ASEAN-US) summit.

US trade deals with Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia

According to a Reuters report, these reciprocal trade deals will “ work to address tariff and non-tariff barriers”.

As part of the agreements, the US will maintain a 19 per cent tariff on most exports from the three SE Asian countries, a joint statement released by the White House stated.

Thailand and Malaysia will also cooperate on diversification of critical minerals supply chains, to counter “rapid growth” from China in the sector, the report said. It added that China too has been in talks with Malaysia for rare earths processing and to build a refinery in the country.

US-Malaysia trade deal: What's on offer?

• As per the joint statement, Malaysia has agreed to refrain from banning or imposing quotas on exports of critical minerals or rare earth elements to the US.
• However, the statement did not include details on if this condition would be applied to raw or processed rare earths.
• The agreement also allows “significant preferential market access” for agricultural imports and industrial goods, such as daily, poultry, chemicals, machinery, and passenger vehicles, from the US.
• The report said that Malaysia, a majority Muslim country recognised as a global leader in halal certification, has also agreed to streamline requirements for US products such as cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
• Malaysia has also pledged to protect labour rights and strengthen environmental protections in the deal.

Malaysia has an estimated 16.1 million tonnes of rare earth deposits, has banned companies from exporting raw rare earths to prevent the loss of resources as it looks to develop its downstream sector, the Reuters report added.

Tariffs, labour rights, environment in Thailand, Cambodia trade deals

• The deal with Thailand will eliminate tariff barriers on around 99 per cent of goods, as per the joint statement.
• Among the items covered include a full range of US industrial and food and agricultural products, the report added.
• Thailand and Cambodia also pledged to protect labour rights and strengthen environmental protections in the deals, it said.

(With inputs from Reuters)