Companies welcome US-China trade truce, warn disputes remain

BEIJING – Companies have welcomed a U.S.-Chinese trade truce as a possible step toward breaking a deadlock in a 15-month-old tariff war, while economists caution there was little progress toward settling core disputes including technology that threaten global growth.

President Donald Trump says Washington will suspend a tariff hike planned for Tuesday on $250 billion of Chinese goods. In exchange, Trump says China agreed to buy as much as $50 billion of American farm goods. Details of other possible agreements weren’t immediately released.

The bruising battle over China’s trade surplus and technology ambitions has disrupted global trade. Economists warn a final settlement might take years to negotiate. Despite that, financial markets rise ahead of each round of talks and fall back when no progress is reported.