China to scrap some export subsidies

Reuters reports that China has agreed to scrap some export subsidies on a range of products from metals to agriculture and textiles, the United States said on Thursday, in a step by Beijing to reduce trade frictions with Washington. China ended a program which provided export subsidies of some $1 billion over three years to Chinese companies in seven economic sectors, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said. But some industry executives were skeptical about the deal’s impact given remaining disputes over other supports that China gives to its exporting industries. Steel has been a particular flashpoint.