US, China strike deal to ease trade curbs
Shafaq News/ The United States and China have reached a preliminary agreement to ease export restrictions and revive their fragile trade truce, US and Chinese officials announced on Wednesday following two days of intensive talks in London.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick described the outcome as adding "meat on the bones" of the previous Geneva understanding, which had stumbled over China’s continued curbs on rare earth exports.
Under the new framework, Beijing has agreed to lift export restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets, while Washington will ease some of its recent export controls on sensitive technologies, including semiconductor design software, aircraft, and other goods. Specifics of the mutual rollbacks were not disclosed.
“We have reached a framework to implement the Geneva consensus and the call between the two presidents,” Lutnick said at a late-night press briefing in London. “If approved, we will then implement the framework.”
China’s Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang confirmed the agreement in principle, noting that both parties will now present it to their respective leaders for final approval.
Notably, Trump's shifting tariff policies had rattled global markets and disrupted supply chains, with the World Bank this week lowering its 2025 global growth forecast to 2.3%, citing instability as a key risk.
Despite the diplomatic breakthrough, officials and analysts cautioned that deep disagreements remain unresolved—particularly over Washington’s unilateral tariff policies and China’s state-supported industrial model.
“They are back to square one,” said Josh Lipsky of the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center. “But that’s much better than square zero.”
Both sides have until August 10 to finalize a broader accord. Without a deal, tariffs could snap back sharply—rising from around 30% to 145% on US imports from China, and from 10% to 125% on Chinese imports from the US.
