US and China Reach Free Trade Tech Deal

In the first major free trade deal in nearly twenty years, the US and China have reached a monumental agreement to cut international tariffs on a wide range of technological equipment. The deal is the culmination of years of diplomatic negotiation, and strengthens the occasionally frosty relationship between the two global economic superpowers.

“This is encouraging news for the U.S.-China relationship,” Michael Froman from the Office of the United States Trade Representative was quoted by Reuters as saying. “It shows how the U.S. and China work together to both advance our bilateral economic agenda but also to support the multilateral trading system.”

The US is set to benefit most from the deal, since China is the biggest exporter of electronic equipment in the world, but the agreement may be the first step towards a global deal currently being considered at Geneva’s World Trade Organisation.

Source: Fortune