US and China reach preliminary agreement to defuse trade tensions

In a bid to avoid a further escalation in economic tensions, senior officials from the United States and China reached a preliminary agreement to appease trade tensions and resolve restrictions imposed by Beijing on the export of strategic minerals, such as rare earths and magnets. The understanding, reached after two days of tense negotiations, will now be submitted for approval by Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. 

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed Tuesday from London that the agreement advances on the consensus reached last month in Geneva, where both powers agreed on a reduction of tariffs that was at risk because of Chinese controls on essential materials for the technology and military industry.

A brake on trade retaliation

The agreement also provides for the elimination of certain restrictions imposed by the United States. Lutnick, Washington, applied specific measures when shipments from China were stopped but will now seek to balance the actions following the compromise reached.

China, for its part, confirmed the progress of the agreement through the Vice Minister of Commerce, Li Chenggang, who assured that the new scheme responds both to the June 5 telephone dialogue between the presidents and to what was discussed at the Geneva summit.