Official: ‘Millimetres’ separate US, China from phase one trade deal
- Senior White House official’s comments add to growing confidence two sides will reach a preliminary agreement after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend
- Donald Trump has been pushing Beijing to agree to buy substantial quantities of US agricultural products
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 27, 2019.
A preliminary trade deal between the United States and China is “millimetres away”, a senior administration official said on Wednesday.
The comments add to the growing optimism that the US and China can announce a so-called phase one agreement soon after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
US President Donald Trump has been pushing for a deal that would force Beijing to purchase significant amounts of agricultural goods after American farmers in the Midwest have been battered by Chinese retaliation during a nearly two-year trade war.
An initial trade deal could also involve a rollback of tariffs that Trump has slapped on roughly US$360 billion worth of Chinese goods. Another round of duties is scheduled to hit US$160 billion worth of Chinese imports, including consumer goods like laptops and smartphones, on December 15.
Final considerations are being given around how Trump might roll back tariffs to not only include the December 15 round but also another set of import duties that were slapped on roughly US$110 billion worth of Chinese goods on September 1.
The possibility of phasing out tariffs on the first three rounds, which affected about US$250 billion worth of Chinese imports, is also under consideration, said another person close to the talks.
Trump has said the phase one deal will require China to purchase up to US$50 billion worth of US farm goods within two years. The deal is also expected to have China to deliver on long-held commitments to open its financial services sector and implement certain intellectual property protections.
Trump said the two sides would enter a second and even third phase of trade talks to address other issues.
