ZCZC
BCN-04
US-CHINA-TRADE-DISPUTE
US and China close to reaching major trade deal: report
NEW YORK, March 3, 2019 (AFP) – The United States and China are close to
reaching a major trade deal that would see both sides lower some of the
tariffs imposed during an often-bitter trade war, a report said Sunday.
Negotiators for the two sides have made substantial progress and a final
accord is close to being hammered out, according to the Wall Street Journal,
which quoted anonymous sources on both sides.
A deal would be welcomed by financial markets, which have suffered through
the often-rancorous trade conflict between the world’s two largest economic
powers.
The Journal said talks last month in Washington had helped narrow
differences, meaning a formal agreement might be ready when President Donald
Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping meet in late March while Xi is
on a European trip.
It stressed, however, that some hurdles remain, and that the pact will
likely spark complaints on both sides that too much has been given away.
The report said China had tentatively agreed to lower tariffs or ease
restrictions on farm, chemical and auto products, among others.
Chinese negotiators have also offered to speed up the timetable for
removing foreign-ownership limits on car ventures and to reduce tariffs on
imported vehicles to below the current 15 percent rate, according to the
Journal.
In a move meant to respond to Trump’s repeated demands for a narrowing of
America’s trade gap with China, Beijing would also increase its purchases of
US goods, including a possible multi-billion-dollar buys of natural gas from
the Cheniere Energy group.
In exchange for Chinese concessions, Washington would do away with most of
the trade sanctions it imposed last year, the report said.
The paper quoted analysts as saying that the failure of Trump’s recent
summit talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi could affect the
trade talks in one of two opposite ways.
It could persuade Beijing that Trump is desperate for a win, or China
might take it as a sign that Trump, as his advisors say, is willing to walk
away from a bad deal.
The year-long tit-for-tat trade war has imposed punishing tariffs totaling
many billions of dollars on a large portion of the trade between the two
economic powers.
BSS/AFP/HR/0922