US and China move closer to securing crucial trade deal.


The US and China have taken a significant step towards securing a long-term trade deal after agreeing details of a trade framework, it was widely reported on Friday.

Beijing

Source: Sharecast

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said Beijing would "review and approve eligible applications for export of controlled items in accordance the law", while the US would cancel unspecified restrictions.

Donald Trump, meanwhile, said on Thursday "we just signed with China yesterday", although he did not provide any details.

A White House official later clarified that the two countries had "agreed to an additional understanding for a framework to implement the Geneva agreement", referring to the talks held in Switzerland last month.

They then added that the framework was focused on "how we can implement expediting rare earths shipments to the US again".

According to Bloomberg, US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick also said separately: "They’ going to deliver rare earths to us," after which "we’ll take down our countermeasures".

China was hit especially hard by Trump's so-called Liberation Day tariffs and quickly imposed its own stringent levies on US imports.

It also suspended exports of a wide range of critical rare ear minerals, hitting the global automotive, aerospace, semiconductor and military sectors especially hard.

The dispute continued to escalate, but in May officials from both sides met in Geneva and thrashed out a 90-day truce, under which Washington cut tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% from 145%, while Beijing lowered them to 10% from 125%.

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