Politico | China pressing Donald Trump to remove more tariffs ahead of ‘phase one’ trade deal signing
- Beijing wants duties lifted in exchange for agreeing to buy up to US$50 billion worth of US farm goods within two years
- US officials struggling over how to ensure China lives up to its side of deal, with reimposition of tariffs being considered as main enforcement mechanism
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Adam Behsudi and Ben White on politico.com on November 4, 2019.
China is demanding that US President Donald Trump not only eliminate a round of tariffs scheduled to go into effect in mid-December but also wants him to lift another substantial round of penalties imposed in September as Chinese President Xi Jinping considers a visit to the United States to sign a “phase one” trade deal, said three people familiar with internal discussions.
Beijing is engaged in a “full court press” for the removal of the tariffs in exchange for agreeing to buy up to US$50 billion worth of US farm goods within two years and implement commitments to open its financial services sector and increase intellectual property protections, one of the people said.
Right now, the assumption is that reaching a phase one deal will eliminate a 15 per cent tariff that is scheduled to hit roughly US$160 billion worth of Chinese goods, one of the people said. That tranche of penalties would have hit a range of consumer goods including laptops and smartphones.
Beijing is also pushing the US to remove a 15 per cent tariff that was imposed on roughly US$112 billion worth of Chinese goods on September 1, but no decision has been made, the people said.