U.S. negotiators say the London summit represented progress. But investors and business leaders remain wary.
We are hearing that the trade talks with China may be bearing fruit — or at least aren’t at an impasse. We’ve heard positive spin before, so we will wait to hear whether both sides say the same thing before any sort of victory can be declared.
We’re also watching key C.P.I. data on Wednesday. And we’re examining new challenges to the latest trend in finance: funds sponsored by private equity that target retail investors. Good luck!
But will Trump and Xi approve?
For the second time in recent weeks, U.S. negotiators are hailing a truce in the Trump administration’s trade clash with China after marathon talks in London wrapped up on Tuesday.
Still, jittery business leaders and investors have plenty of questions: What’s been gained? (The full details haven’t been released). Did the talks break new ground, or is this just a reset to what was agreed at the last meeting, in Switzerland? Perhaps most important, will this détente hold — and result in more deals?
The latest:
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, one of the U.S. negotiators, said progress was made in getting Beijing to relax export controls on vital rare earth minerals. “We do absolutely expect that the topic” will be resolved, he told reporters. (Hours later, a major Chinese rare earths magnet producer said it had received approval to begin some exports, including to the United States.)
Lutnick added that some of the retaliatory trade measures that Washington had imposed on Beijing would be dialed back “in a balanced way.”
President Trump and Xi Jinping, China’s leader, will now be briefed on the discussions: “Once the presidents approve it, we will then seek to implement it,” Lutnick said.
Is a breakthrough possible? Both countries face challenges. The trade war has already begun to affect China’s exports, while a variety of American industries have been hit hard by the rare earth export limits.