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High-stakes US-China trade talks resume as deadline approaches
WASHINGTON, Feb 10, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – With a March 1 deadline fast
approaching, US and Chinese officials resume negotiations next week to
prevent escalation of a trade dispute that has major implications for the
global economy.
China’s economy already has shown signs of slowing, while the trade war
has shaken the confidence of US businesses, as retaliatory tariffs have
raised prices and helped choke off a key export market.
And President Donald Trump’s aggressive strategy has failed to produce a
reduction in the US trade deficit with China, which he set as a primary goal.
Under the looming threat of a surge in tariffs once the 90-day truce
expires, financial markets worldwide have lost ground in recent days as
comments about the status of the talks turned more cautious.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven
Mnuchin will lead the US delegation for the third round of talks on Thursday
and Friday in Beijing.
While officials seemed optimistic after talks last week in Washington,
more recent comments have jarred financial markets, amplifying concerns about
how the dispute will affect global growth.
US President Donald Trump said Thursday he did not expect to meet his
Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping before a March 1 deadline for the two economic
superpowers to reach a deal.
Trump had said final resolution of the trade dispute would depend on the
meeting with Xi “in the near future” but told reporters it had not yet been
arranged.
And top White House economist Larry Kudlow said Thursday that while Trump
was “optimistic” about prospects for a deal, there remained a “sizable
distance” separating the two sides.
– Deadline extension? –
While China has offered to buy more US soybeans and beef, officials have
yet even to agree on a draft of a deal that would address key US concerns,
according to media reports.
MORE/HR/0914
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Washington is demanding far-reaching changes from China to address unfair
practices it says are deeply unfair, including theft of American intellectual
property and the massive Chinese trade surplus.
The dispute has escalated to encompass $360 billion in trade between the
two economic superpowers, and without an agreement by the start of March, the
Trump administration is poised to more than double the punitive duties on
$200 billion in Chinese goods.
However, amid pressure from the business community for the two sides to
resolve the dispute, CNBC cited a senior administration official saying the
March 1 deadline could be pushed back.
“Right now it is in place but that is right now,” the official told CNBC.
“It could change via telephone.”
The White House said there would be a preparatory meeting of senior
officials beginning February 11 and the talks would include officials from
the Agriculture, Energy and Commerce Departments.
The main delegation also includes David Malpass, whom President Donald
Trump has nominated to be president of the World Bank and who has worked to
limit the bank’s assistance to Beijing.
However, strident White House China critic Peter Navarro was not listed as
part of the US team.
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