US President Donald Trump signed a series of trade deals with four Southeast Asian partners on the sidelines of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit on 26 October. The agreements include new reciprocal trade deals and critical minerals agreements with Malaysia and Cambodia, and a framework trade pact with Thailand and Vietnam. These agreements represent a strategic move to diversify the US supply chain, secure access to rare earths, and expand markets for US industrial and agricultural exports ahead of the meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.