This week, delegations from the U.S. and China are meeting in Washington, D.C. to continue negotiations on the trade dispute between the two countries. The talks come only one month out from the deadline when U.S. tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese products are set to increase from 10 percent to 25 percent.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu and 30 Chinese trade officials began negotiations with U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and others on Wednesday. The U.S. has identified over 140 items it wants China to change in relation to trade policies and practices. The Chinese Vice Premier has been tasked with conveying China’s willingness to reform its economy to meet U.S. demands. Although the Chinese Vice Premier is reportedly prepared to offer significant concessions during this round of negotiations, trade experts have expressed little expectation of a major breakthrough resulting from the talks. So far, neither the USTR office or White House have released updates on how negotiations went on Wednesday.
Negotiations continue today with Liu set to meet with President Trump. The president tweeted this morning, “China’s top trade negotiators are in the U.S. meeting with our representatives. Meetings are going well with good intent and spirit on both sides. China does not want an increase in tariffs and feels they will do much better if they make a deal. They are correct…China’s representatives and I are trying to do a complete deal, leaving nothing unresolved on the table. All of the many problems are being discussed and will be hopefully resolved. Tariffs on China increase to 25% on March 1st, so all working hard to complete by that date!”
