Hopes are building that the US may be close to announcing more trade deals, and avoid imposing punishing new tariffs that would disrupt the global economy.

Overnight, Donald Trump announced that China and the US had signed a deal, without providing details,

“We just signed with China yesterday.”

It later emerged that the agreement will expedite rare earth shipments to the US, building on the progress negotiators made in Switzerland last month.

A White House official explained:

“The administration and China agreed to an additional understanding for a framework to implement the Geneva agreement……how we can implement expediting rare earths shipments to the US again.”