US hints China trade talks in final steps
BOTH HAVE SENT SIGNALS THEY’RE INTENT ON AGREEMENT
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Two top economic advisers of President Donald Trump signalled talks with China to reach the first phase of a broad trade agreement are entering the final stages when the most contentious and complex issues are debated, with no guarantee still that another breakdown will be averted.
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told reporters late on Thursday in Washington that “we are coming down to the short strokes” and are “in communication with them every single day.” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, speaking yesterday on Fox Business Network, confirmed a high-level call later yesterday, adding that there’ll be a deal “in all likelihood.”
Both officials added caveats, with Kudlow acknowledging a deal was close though “not done yet” and Ross saying “the devil is always in the details and we’re down to the last details now.”
The call of top trade negotiations is a sign of progress. Still,
The two sides have held working-level video conferences in recent days focused on issues ranging from the details and time line of Chinese purchases of US agricultural goods to commitments to curtail theft of intellectual property.
A US demand that China spell out how it plans to reach as much as $50 billion in agricultural imports annually has been one sticking point as have discussions over what action the US will take to roll back tariffs in return for a phase one deal. the last stages of trade agreements are often where talks break down, and Trump still hasn’t publicly indicated his approval.
“You don’t really have the deal on anything, until you have the deal on everything,” Ross said. “So it’s not surprising that at the very last minute pieces are bouncing around.
But I think the main thing is what the president said at the rally last night: China wants to make a deal. We think we’d like to make a deal if it’s the right deal — this will get made in all likelihood.”
Limited scope
Ross described phase one as “relatively limited in its scope. And what’s really being debated is how much limitation will there be on the scope of phase one relative to phase two or maybe phase three.”
Still, both countries have sent signals that they are intent on an agreement. China has resumed significant purchases of US farm exports since Trump first announced plans for the phase one deal Oct. 11. On Thursday, Beijing also lifted a ban on American poultry that began in 2015, after the US Department of Agriculture made a similar decision to allow Chinese poultry into the US
“This is great news for both America’s farmers and China’s consumers,” Robert Lighthizer, the US trade representative leading the discussions with China, said in a statement.