The International Monetary Fund on Thursday welcomed an agreement by the United States and China to extend their trade truce by two months and begin a process to reduce tariffs on non-strategic goods, saying the move would help stabilize global trade expectations and enhance predictability in the trade environment.
IMF spokeswoman Julie Kozack said at a regular news conference that the agreed arrangement provides a framework for considering more favorable tariff treatment for certain products, stressing that the fund would continue to monitor trade developments between the world's two largest economies as details of the agreement's implementation take shape.
This is important because it helps enhance predictability in the trade environment, and this is significant progress... We understand that the arrangement reached or agreed upon provides a framework for considering more favorable tariff treatment for certain products
Eight-point agreement
China said it had agreed with the United States on a reciprocal arrangement to reduce tariffs worth 30 billion dollars and launch a dialogue on artificial intelligence, as part of an eight-point agreement reached by the two countries during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Washington.
China's Foreign Ministry said the two sides had also agreed to establish a trade council and extend the outcomes of earlier talks held in Kuala Lumpur.
More time for a broader agreement
The United States and China had agreed to extend a trade truce by two months, after it had been due to expire on November 10. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the extension would provide more time to work on a trade agreement that could be more comprehensive.
