Lutnick says US-China talks in London going well

West Australian

a day ago

Trade talks between the United States and China in London are going well and could spill into a third day, US negotiators say, as the two superpowers pushed for a breakthrough on duelling export controls that have threatened to unravel a delicate tariff truce.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he hoped the talks would end on Tuesday evening but said they may run into Wednesday.
"I think the talks are going really, really well. We're very much spending time and effort and energy - everybody's got their head down working closely," he told reporters at Lancaster House, where the two teams have met for two days.
"I hope they end this evening, but if they need be, we'll be here tomorrow," he said as the US delegation arrived for evening talks with Chinese officials.
Negotiators paused for a break earlier before reconvening about 8pm.
No details were immediately available from the meetings, which stretched for more than five hours following a full day on Monday.
A White House official also said the US-China trade talks were going "fine" but declined to provide details.
Having agreed to step back from a full-blown trade embargo at a first round of talks in Geneva in May, the two sides are now seeking agreement after they accused each other of trying to throttle supply chains with a raft of export controls.
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Monday that the US could lift recently imposed export controls on goods such as semiconductors if China sped up the delivery of rare earths and magnets that are crucial to its economy.
The row over rare earths, which has sparked alarm in boardrooms and factory floors around the world, came after last month's preliminary deal in Geneva to cut tariffs, which eased investor fears that the trade dispute would lead to a global slowdown.