EU says will assess if US-China deal meets global trade rules

The European Union's trade chief said on Thursday that the bloc would check to see if a major trade deal struck by the United States and China is compliant with global rules. "The devil is in the detail," EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan told a conference in London, speaking by video link from Washington where he is meeting U.S. officials this week. "We will have to assess whether it is WTO compliant."

Washington and Beijing on Wednesday scaled back their 18-month trade row that has hit global economic growth by signing an initial deal under which China will boost purchases of U.S. goods and services by $200 billion over two years in exchange for the rolling back of some U.S. tariffs.