Although negotiations lasted into the night, sources said Japan and the United States reached a basic agreement earlier Tuesday on a trade dispute over interconnection fees charged by NTT Corp.

The two sides have agreed to effectively cut fees by about 22.5 percent in two years followed by substantial reductions thereafter in the charges that NTT imposes on competitors to access its local circuits, sources said.

Chief negotiators from the two parties were to meet Tuesday to finalize an accord, after working out its specific wording, the sources said.