China, US had ‘constructive’ phone call on trade: Xinhua

US to extend license for its cos to continue business with Huawei

BEIJING, Nov 17, (RTRS): China and United States had “constructive talks” on trade in a high-level phone call on Saturday, state media Xinhua said.

China’s Vice Premier Liu He, US trade representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were on the call. The two sides discussed each other’s core issues for the first phase of an initial trade agreement, and agreed to maintain close communication, according to Xinhua.

Xinhua gave no other details in its report on Sunday.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Thursday the two countries were getting close to an agreement about ending their 16-month trade war, but he gave no further details on the timing of a possible deal.

The United States and China have been locked in successive waves of tit-for-tat tariffs that have roiled financial markets and threatened to drag growth in the global economy to its lowest rate since the 2007-2008 financial crisis.

An agreement had appeared likely in May, but those prospects were dashed after US negotiators said China backed away from the text of a draft agreement.

Concerns flared again last week amid reports that the trade talks had hit a snag over how and when to reduce tariffs, and how much US agricultural products China would commit to buy.

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The Trump administration is set to issue a two-week extension of a license allowing US companies to continue doing business with China’s Huawei Technolo

gies Co Ltd, two sources familiar with the deliberations said.

The extension of around two weeks is far shorter than the prior 90-day extension and a longer extension is in the works but has not yet been finalized due to regulatory hurdles, said one source who was briefed on the matter.

After adding Huawei to an economic blacklist in May citing national security concerns, the US Commerce Department has allowed it to purchase some American-made goods in a move aimed at minimizing disruption for its customers, many of which operate networks in rural America.

The extension will be announced on Monday, when the earlier reprieve is set to expire, the sources said, declining to be identified as the extension has not been publicly announced.

A spokesman for Huawei, the world’s biggest maker of telecom network equipment, said the company

does not comment on rumors and speculation. The Commerce Department declined to comment. Commerce Secretary Wilbur

Ross told Fox Business Network on Friday that some rural carriers need the temporary licenses and are dependent on Huawei for 3G and 4G networks.

“There are enough problems with telephone service in the rural communities - we don’t want to knock them out. So, one of the main purposes of the temporary general licenses is to let those rural guys continue to operate,” Ross said.

The development comes amid discussions between the United States and China aimed at coming to an initial agreement to resolve a trade war that has lasted for over a year.

In blacklisting Huawei, the US government said it had a “reasonable basis to conclude that Huawei is engaged in activities that are

contrary to US national security or foreign policy interests”. Huawei has repeatedly denied the accusations.

Attorney General William Barr said on Thursday Huawei and ZTE Corp “cannot be trusted,” as he backed a proposal to bar US rural wireless carriers from tapping an $8.5 billion government fund to purchase equipment or services from them. In May, President Donald

Trump also signed an executive order declaring a national emergency and barring US companies from using telecommunications equipment made by companies posing a national security risk. The Commerce Department was due to draw up an enforcement plan by mid-October but has yet to publish one.

The Commerce Department is also considering whether to grant individual licenses for US firms to sell components to Huawei after receiving more than 200 requests.