The United States has been locked in trade negotiations with China for the last 16 months. Discussions over repealing tariffs have been slowly progressing over the last few months. Although there was talk of completing phase one of negotiations, it seems as though both countries are still working out a solution that works well for everyone involved.
US Leverage
The United States currently has quite a bit of leverage in these trade negotiations. China imports a significant number of products into the US. However, Trump and his administration aren’t sure eliminating tariffs is the best solution for our country. According to an article written for aljazeera.com, “China would like to get somewhat of a rollback, not a complete rollback, ’cause they know I won’t do it,” Trump said. “I haven’t agreed to anything.” He said China wanted to make a deal more than he did, adding that the US tariffs were generating “billions of dollars” for US coffers.” Because of the large amount of money our country is collecting from these tariffs, Trump’s administration doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to finish any negotiations. They feel as though our country has the upper hand and collecting billions in the meantime is an added bonus.
Phase One Proposition
China and the US are the two largest economies in the world. These negotiations have made a global impact. The proposed phase one agreement is said to have included tariff roll backs for both parties. It would also include signing the deal in the United States. President Trump is insistent that everything be signed in a state such as Iowa who has been impacted severely by Chinese tariffs. Aljazeera.com also mentions, “US officials said a lot of work remained to be done when Trump announced the outlines of an interim deal last month, and Beijing has since pushed back on US demands for big agricultural purchases, among other issues.” It has been made quite clear that nothing has been agreed upon yet and the proposed phase one deal could fall apart at any time.
Hope
There are many who believe these negotiations could be completed as early as December. There are 165 billion dollars worth of tariffs that will go into effect on December 15th of this year. This incredibly large sum is a great motivator for China to agree to the terms set by the US. However, the above mentioned article also states, “China was also seeking cancellation of other US tariffs put in place since January 2018. Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng on Thursday said both countries must simultaneously cancel some tariffs on each other’s goods to reach the phase-one pact.”
Negotiations seem to be ramping up and a conclusion is hopefully on the horizon. This large scale trade deal would not only benefit the US and China, but economies all over the world. Here’s hoping both parties come to an agreement that they can be happy with.