OAN Staff Blake Wolf and Katherine Mosack
11:33 AM – Sunday, October 26, 2025
Amidst his trip to Asia, President Donald Trump signed trade deals with key Asian partners to address trade imbalances while finding alternative supply chains, as China cracks down on rare earth exports.
On Sunday, President Donald Trump oversaw a peace agreement signing between Cambodia and Thailand at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit — called the 13th ASEAN – United States Summit this year — after previous hostilities between the two nations over a border dispute earlier this year.
“On behalf of the U.S., I’m proud to help settle this conflict and forge a future for the region,” Trump stated at the signing ceremony, alongside Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet as well as Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.
Following the signing ceremony, the president inked deals with both Cambodia and Thailand, as well as Malaysia and Vietnam.
Within the trade deals, Cambodia dropped all tariffs on U.S. goods, while Thailand agreed to remove all tariffs on 99 percent of U.S. goods. The United States also inked a similar deal with Vietnam, while being able to leave a 19 percent tariff in place from all four nations.
“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.”
The U.S. was also able to secure agreements with all three nations on critical minerals as it seeks to break away from reliance on Chinese rare earth minerals in response to China’s decision to tighten restrictions on rare earth exports.
China is the world’s top miner, and its materials are widely used in semiconductor chips, electric vehicles and military equipment.
As part of the deal, Malaysia agreed to forego imposing quotas on critical mineral exports or rare earth elements, providing the United States access to essential minerals.
Malaysia’s statement did not enumerate whether it covered raw or processed rare earths, though the country has an estimated 16.1 million tons of rare earth deposits.
The deal would, however, grant the U.S significant preferential access to chemicals, machinery, passenger vehicles, dairy products and poultry, in exchange for American industrial goods and agricultural imports.
Meanwhile, Thailand agreed to strike tariff barriers on about 99% of goods.
In their respective deals, all three countries also pledged to strengthen protections for the environment and labor rights.
Trade is also at the center of Trump’s meeting with the president of Brazil on Sunday and a later reunion with Chinese President Xi Jinping before he returns to the U.S. on October 30th.
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