Hasta La Vista, Trade Wars? US and China Dance on the Edge of Agreement

Judgment Day Avoided...For Now

Okay people listen up. Sarah Connor here. I've seen things you wouldn't believe – machines rising futures changing and now this? The US and China locked in an economic staring contest are claiming they've reached a *framework* agreement on trade. A framework. Sounds about as sturdy as a popsicle stick in a hurricane doesn't it? But hey at least they're talking right? Beats launching nukes… or killer robots. Apparently after some high level hand wringing in London both sides are saying they've got something the big bosses – Trump and Xi – need to sign off on. I swear this whole thing is giving me flashbacks to trying to convince people about Skynet. Nobody wants to believe the obvious until it's too late!

Geneva Consensus: More Like Geneva Suggestion

So what's this *framework* based on? Some 'Geneva consensus' and a phone call between Trump and Xi. Seriously? Phone calls? You try stopping a Terminator with a strongly worded phone call! Both countries were busy pointing fingers accusing each other of breaking this Geneva agreement. Sounds like a playground spat to me. Mid May saw them agree to a 90 day timeout on tariffs like that's going to fix anything. I've seen longer timeouts for my kid throwing his mashed potatoes. Now Lutnick and Greer are running back to D.C. to get Trump's blessing. Let's hope he doesn't tweet the whole thing into oblivion before then.

Xi Approves? I'll Believe It When I See It

According to some economist guy Jianwei Xu the fact that they need to run this by their leaders means there's still stuff they're bickering over. *Ya think?* He says it's a commitment to *de escalate*. That's politician speak for 'we haven't got a clue what we're doing but we're trying to sound important'. Whether this leads to 'concrete agreements' is still up in the air. Color me shocked. I've seen more certainty in a coin toss.

Rare Earths and Tech Wars: The Real Battleground

Apparently Chinese restrictions on rare earth exports are a 'fundamental part' of this whole mess. And the US is expecting those restrictions to vanish like a T 1000 after a dip in molten steel. In return the US might roll back some restrictions on selling fancy tech to China. It sounds like a hostage negotiation disguised as a trade deal. Kennedy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies is right on the money: This whole thing is held together by mutual leverage not some grand shared vision. So yeah expect more drama. A *lot* more drama. As I always say 'the future is not set. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves.'

Beijing's Silent Treatment and Market Jitters

The Chinese state media was all over Trump's phone call but then clammed up after Lutnick's announcement. Talk about suspicious! Eventually CCTV coughed up a notification about the 'framework agreement in principle'. 'In principle'. Sounds like a fancy way of saying 'we're not really sure what we agreed to but we're going with it'. Meanwhile the Chinese stock market is twitching and US stock futures are down. Everyone's holding their breath waiting for the other shoe to drop. It's like waiting for Skynet to activate – you know something bad is coming but you just don't know when.

There Is No Fate But What We Make...Or Mess Up?

So there you have it. A trade deal that's about as stable as a Terminator running on Windows 95. Will it save the world economy? Probably not. Will it give us a few months of peace and quiet before the next round of tariff threats? Maybe. But one thing's for sure: the fight for the future economic or otherwise is never really over. Stay vigilant people. And remember if you see a suspicious looking robot trying to negotiate trade deals run the other way. You've been warned.