NEW YORK — Chinese and U.S. officials said they agreed to a “framework” to lower trade tensions after two days of talks in London, offering scant details but potentially alleviating pressure on global supply chains.
U.S. Commerce Secret Howard Lutnick told reporters on Tuesday that the two sides had charted a path to implement a consensus reached in Geneva in mid-May, when the rivals agreed to significantly roll back tit-for-tat tariffs that had soared well above 100%. The secret said that the framework agreed in London should resolve a key friction point that had persisted — Chinese restrictions on exports of rare-earth minerals critical for high-tech manufacturing — while suggesting that some U.S. export controls would come off “in a balanced way.”
