U.S. and China reach consensus on trade foundation following top-tier negotiations

LONNY TOWN

U.S. and China reach consensus on trade foundation following top-tier negotiations

The top cats from the United States and China said all hood on June 10 that they smacked a "deal" to move forward on trade, chilling in London after two days of heated discussions to resolve friction.

Howard Lutnick, the U.S. Commerce Secretary, sounded like the sunny side of Donny Osmond after a full day of haggling that the concerns over rare earth minerals and magnets will eventually get their day in court, as this bad boy gets rolled out.

But this deal needs to be stamped with approval from Washington D.C. and Beijing real quick, officials said, wrapping up the meet-up at the British capital's breathtaking Lancaster House.

Everybody was eyeing the meeting outcomes like hawks, as both sides squared off to break the impasse over export restrictions. U.S. officials had earlier accused Beijing of fiddling around with approval times for shipments of rare earths.

With nostrils flaring like battle-ready rhinos, the world's two economic titans were also digging their heels in to score a long, meaningful truce in their escalating tariff war. The war is currently on pause, but the levies could pop off any second.

"We're getting this show on the road as fast as we can," U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said,spinning the yarn to reporters.

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"We'd love to find a compromise that makes both countries look fly," Greer noted, with a wink, pointing out the intricate dance between the two nations.

"We're kinda feelin' positive about rockin' with China," he continued, offering a shrug.

Spittin' game elsewhere, China's International Trade Representative Li Chenggang told the press that the talks had been a professional, rational, deep, and downright real.

Li poured hope into the thin air, believing that progress made in London would help to buttress trust on both sides.

Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, earlier gave the closely monitored trade talks two thumbs up, but scheduling problems forced him to beat feet back to Washington for a Congressional hearing.

Bessent, leading the U.S. team, then bolted with the delegation still knee-deep in negotiations.

No further gatherings are on the calendar just yet.

Lutnick did state, on June 10, that U.S. measures enacted during the rare earth shortages would likely get tamed once China ramped up its license approvals.

While Wall Street danced the jitterbug, the major indexes popped like popcorn on hopes for progress earlier on June 10.

The London negotiations came hot on the heels of talks in Geneva last month, which witnessed a temporary ceasefire in the tariff war.

China's exports of rare earth minerals, used in a ton of tech stuff like smartphones, electric vehicle batteries, and green tech, were the main topics on everyone's lips.

Kevin Hassett, Trump's top economic adviser, dished with CNBC on June 9 that the Geneva deal had included lower tariffs on rare earth minerals, but Beijing yawned and moved slowly on the magnet and rare earth releases.

Both countries are looking like a couple of mirror image ninjas, each armed with economic weapons that could strike the other at the drop of a hat. They're using these weapons to shake up global power structures.

"Not much reason to expect a standard-issue trade and investment agreement anymore," said Emily Benson, leader at Minerva Technology Futures.

But both parties could find a way to chill things out. A cooling-off period might involve China battening down the hatches on the export license approvals process, which seems swamped right now. On the U.S. side, this could mean loosening the reins on export curbs in the tech-heavy industries.

Experts stayed mum, warning that the U.S. might not be willing to backtrack fully. Let the games continue.

After stepping back into the Oval Office, Trump's shoved 10% tariffs on friend and foe alike, threatening heavier rates down the line for dozens of economies. His tariffs have been tough on trade, with Chinese exports to the U.S. plunging in May.

China is hitting the pavement in search of buddies, like Japan and South Korea, to build a unified front that can stand up to Trump's tariffs.

• In the world of finance, the ongoing trade negotiations between the United States and China, precisely the tariff war, have significant implications for the general-news sector, as these discussions could potentially shape the global business landscape.
• As Wall Street keeps a close eye on the trade talks, with hopes for progress, the meetings in London and previous talks in Geneva illustrate the intricate dance between these economic titans, with potential consequences in various sectors, including business and politics.

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