Trump Strikes Gold With New Trade and Critical Mineral Pacts in Asia

Trump Strikes Gold With New Trade and Critical Mineral Pacts in Asia

President Donald Trump managed to strike gold on his recent trip to a summit of Southeast Asian nations seeking to increase their access to our markets while we develop their rare-earth resources.

Malaysia

First up is Malaysia:

Trump arrived in Malaysia, where he is attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and oversaw a peace agreement signing between Cambodia and Thailand. Following that signing, Trump inked trade agreements with Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia.

As part of the agreements, the U.S. would leave in place a 19 percent tariff on imports from all three countries. Cambodia said it would drop tariff barriers on all U.S. goods, while a memorandum of understanding with Thailand said the country would eliminate tariff barriers on 99 percent of American products.

The agreements call for all three countries to work toward eliminating “non-tariff barriers.”

“These landmark deals demonstrate that America can maintain tariffs to shrink the goods trade deficit while opening new markets for American farmers, ranchers, workers, and manufacturers,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement. “I thank my counterparts from Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam for their collaboration and commitment in achieving a more balanced trade relationship with the United States.”

I reported on the conflict between Cambodia and Thailand this summer. It’s good to see the peace deal formalized.

Trump’s deal with Malaysia is especially important, as it ensures that the nation will continue to export to our country of critical minerals used in advanced technology, communications, and defense equipment.

Reuters reported exclusively this month that China was in talks with Kuala Lumpur on rare earths processing, with Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional expected to partner with a Chinese firm to build a refinery in Malaysia.

China, the world’s top miner and processor of rare earths, has imposed increasingly stringent export controls on its refining technology, sending global manufacturers scrambling to secure alternative supplies for critical minerals used widely in semiconductor chips, electric vehicles and military equipment.

Malaysia agreed on Sunday to refrain from banning or imposing quotas on exports to the U.S. of critical minerals or rare earth elements, the countries said in a statement.

The statement however did not specify whether Malaysia’s pledge applied to raw or processed rare earths.

Thailand

The U.S. and Thailand signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen cooperation in diversifying and securing global critical minerals supply chains, with a focus on sectors such as exploration, extraction, processing, and recycling. The agreement aims to increase bilateral trade and investment, encourage technology transfer, and build capacity within Thailand’s workforce and industries, all while promoting responsible and sustainable market practices.

Key areas include sharing technical expertise, prioritizing investment in projects that support domestic processing, and collaborating on regulatory best practices and high-standard trade frameworks. The agreement with Thailand also included other perks.

The pact with Thailand eliminates tariffs on 99% of US goods across industrial, agricultural and food products. The US will list a set of Thai goods that it will exempt from its current 19% trade tariff. Thailand and the US also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on critical minerals which would offer the US preferential access to rare earths.

Thailand agreed to the procurement of 80 US aircraft at a total of USD18.8 billion ($28.85 billion) and the purchase of energy products, including LNG, crude oil, and ethane, with an estimated value of USD5.4 billion per year.

Cambodia

The U.S. and Cambodia announced a reciprocal trade deal that eliminates tariffs on all U.S. exports to Cambodia and boosts American market access. At the same time, the U.S. maintains tariffs on Cambodian imports except for certain products listed as exempt. This agreement is designed to benefit American firms and farmers while reducing the U.S. trade deficit.

Japan

Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi signed a deal as well.

This one is YUGE:

Within six months, Washington and Tokyo plan to identify and fund new mining and processing projects for key materials like magnets and batteries. The agreement also creates a joint “Rapid Response Group” to spot and supply vulnerabilities and coordinate emergency deliveries of critical materials.

Under the agreement, Japan and the U.S. will streamline and expedite permitting processes for critical minerals and rare earths.

The agreement also commits both countries to address foreign trade distortions and unfair market practices.

The White House said Washington and Tokyo would explore a joint stockpiling arrangement and work with other partners to strengthen supply chain security.

Boxing Out China

If these agreements succeed, not only will we have more robust trade that benefits the US and its trading partners, but China will no longer have a monopoly over essential elements of modern life. As Charlie Hurt of Fox & Friends Weekend noted, Trump’s use of economic power seems to have made it more powerful than our military.

STRATEGIC MASTERSTROKE: Trump's new deals just flipped China's leverage on its head—brokering peace between Thailand & Cambodia, and sealing a vital rare earth minerals pact with Malaysia. Van Hipp nails it: America's reclaiming the edge! How big a blow is this to Beijing? pic.twitter.com/oLJwBvBxOf

— 🇺🇸BeckyStephens (@BeckyStephens32) October 27, 2025

President Trump’s diplomacy has always been a recognition that America’s economic power is even more powerful than our military power, and he’s not afraid to use it. And, of course, all of this happens at a time where there are rumors swirling around, real concerns about Xi Jinping’s grip on power in China.

here are real questions about whether or not—because, obviously, China has all kinds of problems that we don’t know a lot about because it’s a pretty closed-off society. But they have real problems on their hands, like generational problems on their hands. And you know that Trump recognizes all of that and recognizes that he can use this moment where Xi Jinping faces these problems to his—to Trump’s—to our advantage, to America’s advantage, to the advantage of the world.

Whether it is dealing with Russia and breaking up that alliance or dealing with fentanyl or dealing with trade, and Trump is going to take advantage of every bit of it.

The Legal Insurrection team has been covering the rare earths supply issue for quite some time. While I am delighted that the Trump administration has taken it seriously, I am shocked by the rapid pace of progress… happily so.

It appears “economic power” trumps “soft power”.

"Economic Power" apparently trumps "Soft Power". Good to know for future planning. https://t.co/yVonotLaMA

— Leslie Eastman ☥ (@Mutnodjmet) October 28, 2025

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