The United States and China have agreed to a tentative trade deal that addresses biotechnology and other key agricultural issues while substantially boosting U.S. farm exports, President Donald Trump said Friday.

Trump administration officials say they are committed to reducing regulatory barriers to agricultural biotechnology as part of a larger strategy to promote the development of a "bioeconomy" based on far-reaching scientific innovations that could revolutionize medicine, nutrition and manufacturing as well as farming.

The CEO of seed and chemical giant Corteva Agriscience believes farmers must play a major role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and says he's working with other companies as well as academics and non-governmental organizations to address the climate issue.

Crop developers say USDA’s effort to streamline its regulation of biotech crops will still slow the commercialization of many gene-edited products, but groups representing grain traders, food processors and restaurant chains are slamming the department's proposal, claiming it could lead to trade disruptions and undermine consumer confidence. 

Many new genetically engineered crop traits would be exempt from regulation by the Agriculture Department under a sweeping rewrite of its rules for testing and assessing the products.

Former Sen. Richard Lugar, an Indiana Republican who won admirers from both political parties during a 36-year Senate career, died Sunday from complications of a chronic neurological disorder, according to the nonprofit Lugar Center, which he had founded.