Politico | Robert Lighthizer determined to land ‘real agreement’ with China, US Chamber chief Tom Donohue says
- US trade representative told top US business executives that negotiations were an ‘extraordinary challenge’ and much work remained
- Officials from both countries will meet on Friday to prepare for high-level talks in early October
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Adam Behsudi on politico.com on September 16, 2019.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told top business executives on Monday that there is still much work to be done to reach a trade deal with China despite the two sides having been close to an agreement earlier this year, said US Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue.
“He laid it out by saying this is an extraordinary challenge, and when it all fell apart some months ago they were very, very close to a workable agreement,” Donohue said at a press conference Monday.
The Chamber chief said Lighthizer did not mention the possibility of an interim deal that could de-escalate trade tensions by further delaying tariff escalation.
US President Donald Trump is expected to increase tariffs on US$250 billion worth of Chinese goods in mid-October after a two-week delay. Another round of US tariffs is coming on December 15 on virtually all remaining imports from China, including on consumer goods like laptops and mobile phones.
Deputy-level trade officials from the US and China will meet on Friday to prepare for an early October meeting between Lighthizer, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He and other senior Chinese officials.