U.S. Close to Trade Deal with China

The world’s two largest economies, United States and China, are edging towards a trade deal that would lift U.S. tariffs on Chinese products in return for a number of economic pledges by Beijing.

Under the deal, the U.S. would reportedly lift sanctions on at least $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, while China would lift retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. and make pledges for economic reform, The Hill informs.

The developments were first reported by Reuters, which cited a source who said that China had reserved a 10-day window around March 20 for a possible summit with the U.S. to announce a trade deal. Such a summit was previously mentioned by President Donald Trump, who said it could take place at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

The trade deal could be signed on March 27, several news outlets report.

The U.S. and China have been in a trade war for almost a year now, with both countries imposing duties on each other’s imports worth hundreds of millions of dollars. But lately, negotiation between the two countries appeared to be making progress and a deal could soon be sealed.

However, there still remain some issues which the negotiating teams cannot agree on, including how soon U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods would be lifted. In order to ensure that China sticks to the agreement, the U.S. wants to lift the levies over time.

A new set of tariffs on Chinese products was to come into force on March 1, but President Trump delayed them, sparking talks of a possible deal as part of which China would lower tariffs on agricultural products and other U.S. goods.

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