U.S.-China Trade Deal Near, but Trump Not Ready to Sign Off, Kudlow Says
15 November 2019 - 12:02PM
Dow Jones News
By Harriet Torry
WASHINGTON -- U.S. and Chinese negotiators are nearing a trade
deal, but President Trump isn't ready to sign off, White House
economic adviser Lawrence Kudlow said Thursday.
The two sides are "getting close" to an agreement, Mr. Kudlow
said Thursday during a question-and-answer event at the Council on
Foreign Relations.
Negotiators for the U.S. and China have been working to come up
with a written "phase one" trade deal in which Beijing would commit
to buying American farm products and the U.S. would agree to roll
back tariffs it has imposed on Chinese imports.
Both countries were initially working toward a deal that Mr.
Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could sign at the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Chile, but the summit
was canceled because of rioting in Chile. The cancellation,
combined with difficulties at the bargaining table, has disrupted
the time frame.
Mr. Trump has said that China has agreed to buy up to $50
billion in U.S. farm goods annually, but The Wall Street Journal
reported Wednesday that China was balking at making a specific
dollar commitment.
The expected rollback of tariffs has emerged as a major
stumbling block, with China pushing the U.S. to remove all levies
while the U.S. has pushed for a limited or phased rollback as
leverage to ensure China lives up to its promises.
Write to Harriet Torry at harriet.torry@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 14, 2019 19:47 ET (00:47 GMT)
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