The de-escalation provides both sides with breathing space to find a way to preserve trading ties that were threatening to grind to a halt.

U.S. soybean exports may drop 20% and the prices paid to farmers will plunge if the United States and China fail to resolve their trade dispute limiting U.S. soybeans from their largest market, agribusiness consultants AgResource said on Wednesday.

The lead U.S. negotiator in trade talks with China cheered “a great deal of productivity” in resolving differences between the world’s two leading economic powers, after officials wrapped two days of bargaining in Switzerland following