U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said negotiations with Beijing have reached the “halfway” mark toward restoring a steady flow of rare-earth magnets, describing China’s agreement to ease export controls on the critical components as its “biggest concession” to date. Greer added that the United States is now confident the magnets will move directly rather than being routed through third countries, a practice Washington says complicates supply-chain monitoring and inflates costs for U.S. manufacturers. On tariffs, Greer told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that most of the duties President Donald Trump imposed last week on a range of trading partners are “pretty much set.” He nonetheless left the door open to delaying a planned Aug. 12 snap-back that would lift tariff rates on some Chinese imports to 84%, saying “no one wants to see those tariffs return” while talks continue.