President Donald Trump will sign a “Phase One” trade deal with China in January 2020, he announced on Dec. 31.
Trump and Chinese officials will take part in a signing ceremony at the White House in Washington on Jan. 15, 2020.
“High level representatives of China will be present. At a later date I will be going to Beijing where talks will begin on Phase Two!” Trump said in a statement.
Trump announced on Dec. 13 that the United States agreed to a “Phase One” deal with China after a years-long trade war. “We have agreed to a very large Phase One Deal with China. They have agreed to many structural changes and massive purchases of Agricultural Product, Energy, and Manufactured Goods, plus much more,” Trump said.
I will be signing our very large and comprehensive Phase One Trade Deal with China on January 15. The ceremony will take place at the White House. High level representatives of China will be present. At a later date I will be going to Beijing where talks will begin on Phase Two!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2019
Details released by the administration indicate that the United States will maintain 25 percent tariffs on approximately $250 billion of Chinese imports and 7.5 percent tariffs on about $120 billion of Chinese imports—marking a 50 percent reduction in those tariffs. The deal included the cancellation of impending U.S. tariffs on $160 billion of Chinese consumer goods.
The deal also includes China committing to buying at least $200 billion in American goods and services over the next two years, including around $40 to $50 billion in U.S. agricultural goods, a senior administration official told The Epoch Times.
China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, said the deal will “provide stability in global trade.” Gao Feng, a spokesman at the Chinese commerce ministry, later told reporters that the countries were in touch and that details of the agreement would be made public after it was signed.
The country announced just before Christmas that it was planning to cut import tariffs amid the trade war and a slowing economy.
While the first deal will take care of some issues, the trade war—which has put pressure on both countries—is not over.
Trump told reporters on Christmas Eve that he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping would “probably” hold a signing ceremony.
“We’ll have a quicker signing, because we want to get it done. The deal is done. It’s just being translated right now, okay?” he added.
From The Epoch Times
