After negotiations, Washington is geared towards reaching a subsequent agreement with Beijing ahead of re-escalating tariffs on Chinese products.
The Trump administration and Chinese officials have reinitiated talks to resolve a long-standing feud. With the recent development, the tech giants discussed reaching a limited trade agreement to hold off raising tariffs as high as 30% against the Chinese products in the US. Meanwhile, China has pledged to increase purchases of American agriculture products in the subsequent agreement, contrary to its currency standards.
Since news of the prospective agreement surfaced, the stock market has surged and prompted the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to persuade both countries to revise up the forecast for next year.
Bilateral talks have eased tensions, helping Washington to demand China to increase efforts to protect American intellectual property and technology. However, it is still unclear whether the communist government would change its tech practices and reform its economic policies with the provisions enumerated in Section 301 of U.S Trade Act of 1974.
Aligning with U.S trade policies is a focal point of an apparent truce between the two giants. For more than a year and a half, the trade war has agitated the world’s largest economies in retaliation to each other’s punitive measures. Hikes in duties imposed have affected millions of American consumers, who rely on products imported from China. Additionally, the backlash American agriculture received has disrupted its supply chains and manufacturing. The Trump administration’s pursuit of protecting intellectual property theft and illicit technology transfer has rationalized its continued sanctions on China and would give the U.S. an edge to win this trade war.
President Trump’s tweets have reiterated his commitment to building a strong economy. His consistent efforts cannot be undermined in the wake of his recently initiated impeachment inquiry over complaints of using his office for political gains with foreign assistance.