No new Trump tariffs on Sunday, but still no trade deal
After Trump’s announcement yesterday that he had approved a “mini-trade deal,” there was silence from Beijing. But today, Xinhua News Agency published English and Chinese versions of an article titled “China, U.S. agree on text of phase one trade deal.”
The U.S. cutting tariffs is the only concrete commitment in the text: “Both sides have reached consensus that the U.S. side will fulfill its commitments to phase out its additional tariffs on Chinese products, so as to achieve a switch from hiking to cutting additional tariffs.”
The reciprocal commitment from China is very vague: “With the expansion of China’s domestic market, Chinese enterprises will import more high-quality and competitive goods and services from countries, including the United States, under the WTO rules as well as market rules and business principles.”
There is some talk of the agreement helping to “enhance intellectual property rights protection, improve the business environment, expand market access, and better safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of all companies, including foreign firms, in China,” but that’s as specific as it gets.
This is really not a deal yet — Xinhua says:
Both sides have agreed to complete their necessary procedures including legal review, translation and proofreading as soon as possible, and discuss the detailed arrangements for officially signing the agreement.
The devil is in the details.
The Office of the U.S. Representative also released a statement on the deal today: The language seems rather more certain than the Xinhua copy.
I am not the only one who is underwhelmed. “The White House pushed back Friday on criticism of its new trade deal with China, saying it included an unprecedented increase in orders for American products, better protection for U.S. trade secrets and a powerful enforcement mechanism,” reports the Washington Post. Despite the administration’s protests, “Markets, Democrats remain unimpressed.”
