UpdateTime：2019-11-08Source: Shandong Fu Animal Husbandry Technology Co., LTD
China and the United States are likely to sign the first phase of a trade agreement this month. The US is considering withdrawing a 15 per cent tariff on $112bn of Mainland goods imposed in September in exchange for an agreement with Beijing, the Financial Times said, citing sources familiar with the matter. In addition, earlier, there were reports that China pressured the United States to lift some tariffs before agreeing to sign an agreement with the United States.
The Financial Times earlier quoted five sources as saying trump administration officials were debating whether to lift the 15 percent tariff on $112 billion of Chinese goods imposed in early September.
The US move is part of a central demand for a trade agreement between China and the US. Politico, a US political news website, quoted three sources as saying yesterday that Beijing was "comprehensively pressuring" Washington to lift the tariffs, not only to lift the 15 per cent tariff on $116bn of Chinese goods scheduled to be imposed in mid-December, but also to withdraw the 15 per cent tariffs already in place in September. In exchange, Beijing agreed to buy up to $5 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products over two years, open financial markets and improve intellectual property protection before it considered signing the first phase of a trade agreement with the U.S.
Sources also said that Beijing has always been quite eager to cancel the current U.S. have tariffs on Chinese goods imposed on measures, including the elimination in 25% of the $250 billion goods lu have previously imposed on tariffs, or cancel at least half, but the proposal has been trump around him back ticket, also was not included in the first phase of agreement at present. America has already cancelled a planned tax rise in mid-October of 30% on $250 billion of goods, up from 25%.
Sources familiar with the matter told the Financial Times that while there is a growing consensus within Trump's team that the United States should back down and eliminate existing tariffs on Chinese goods, it is uncertain whether Trump himself will agree, so the proposal to withdraw 15 percent of tariffs could be difficult to implement.
MyronBrilliant, executive vice President for international affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said both sides recognize the importance of signing the agreement at this stage and the need to make concessions. But hawks in Washington and The U.S. Congress are likely to oppose lowering existing tariffs, arguing that such a move would reduce U.S. pressure on China and force Trump to face accusations of bowing to Beijing before the 2020 election.
The leaders of China and the United States were due to sign the first phase of the trade agreement at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Chile in the middle of this month, but Chile canceled its hosting because of domestic protests. Now the two sides are discussing alternative locations, including Alaska, Hawaii and the U.S. agricultural heartland of Iowa.
The United States is struggling with how to develop mechanisms to ensure Beijing will honor the agreement, the sources said, with the one most discussed by officials being the reimposition of all tariffs. Senior White House officials say the first phase of the agreement is almost complete, but the two sides are still negotiating on issues such as intellectual-property protection, and Beijing is considering a neutral zone outside the United States.
The White House, The Treasury Department and the U.S. Trade Representative office declined to comment on the reports.
