An employee works at a garment factory, which exports products to Europe, in Hefei, Anhui province January 19, 2015. China has agreed to scrap controversial export subsidies on a range of products from metals to agriculture and textiles, the U.S. Trade Representative said on Thursday. In a deal coinciding with global economic meetings in Washington, the trade representative’s office said China had agreed to end a program known as its “demonstration bases-common service platform” in which it provides export subsidies to Chinese companies in seven economic sectors. The agreement is a step by Beijing to reduce trade frictions with the United States that range from steel and agricultural products to technology and banking. It comes about a year after the United States filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization about the program, alleging “unfair, prohibited export subsidies to a large range of Chinese manufacturers and producers.” “This agreement […]