US and China reach trade agreement calling for structural reforms & tariff concessions

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The US and China have announced the phase one trade agreement, bringing a big breakthrough after over 18-month-long bruising trade war between the world’s two largest economies threatening to roil the global economy.

The phase one of the deal requires structural reforms and other changes to China’s economic and trade regime in the areas of intellectual property, technology transfer, agriculture, financial services, and currency and foreign exchange.

The deal says if China breaks any part of the agreement, the Trump administration has the ability to re-implement tariffs. US negotiators are offering to significantly reduce existing tariffs on Chinese imports worth about 360 billion dollars.

In return, China has promised to buy large quantities of US soybeans, poultry and other agricultural products.

If the new, higher tariffs had gone ahead, Chinese-made goods such as smartphones, clothing and toys would have become more expensive for Americans just ahead of Christmas