US and China reach deal on enforcement mechanism for possible pact to end trade war, US trade chief Robert Lighthizer tells Congress
- Mechanism ostensibly answers a US concern that any agreement to end the trade war be specific, measurable and enforceable at all levels of Chinese government
- US-China tensions have eased since US President Donald Trump said he would delay plans to raise tariffs on US$200 billion in Chinese goods
The US and China have agreed to an enforcement mechanism that ensures Beijing follows through on promised reforms if a deal to end the trade war is reached, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday.
The mechanism would consist of monthly meetings at the office director level, quarterly meetings at the vice-ministerial level and semi-annual gatherings at the ministerial level, with these last meetings convened by Lighthizer and Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He, the top US trade negotiator testified.
The mechanism appears to answer a US concern that any final agreement brokered by Washington and Beijing would be specific, measurable and enforceable at all levels of Chinese government – a condition Lighthizer made a point of in his testimony.
“We have to have the ability to take proportional action unilaterally to make sure that we have a situation where [China is] following the contract,” he said.
Enforcement has been one of the stickiest points in the negotiations, with the sides far apart on the issue as recently as last week. Washington had rejected Beijing’s offered solution of “joint task forces”, while Beijing had resisted any mechanism that threatened the country’s sovereignty, sources with knowledge of negotiations previously told the South China Morning Post.
Despite a new consensus on enforcement, Lighthizer stressed on Wednesday that major hurdles remained.