On Sunday, 24 February, U.S. President Donald Trump delayed a deadline he set that would have increased tariffs on USD 200 billion (EUR 176 billion) in Chinese imports.
Trump had previously ordered import duties on Chinese goods to rise from 10 percent to 25 percent beginning on 1 March. On Twitter, Trump said he decided to delay the imposition of the tariff increases as a result of progress being made in talks between U.S. and Chinese negotiators
Trump said a summit focused on trade negotiations has been scheduled for late March at Trump’s residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, U.S.A., and that Chinese President Xi Jinping will be in attendance.
“I am pleased to report that the U.S. has made substantial progress in our trade talks with China on important structural issues including intellectual property protection, technology transfer, agriculture, services, currency, and many other issues,” Trump wrote. “As a result of these very productive talks, I will be delaying the U.S. increase in tariffs now scheduled for March 1. Assuming both sides make additional progress, we will be planning a Summit for President Xi and myself, at Mar-a-Lago, to conclude an agreement. A very good weekend for U.S. & China!”
On Monday, 25 February, Trump hinted further that a deal with China is in the works.
“China Trade Deal (and more) in advanced stages,” he tweeted. “Relationship between our two Countries is very strong. I have therefore agreed to delay U.S. tariff hikes. Let’s see what happens?”
The United States has already imposed tariffs on USD 250 billion (EUR 220 billion) worth of Chinese products, and in response, China has placed tariffs on USD 110 billion (EUR 96.8 billion) of U.S. goods. In July 2018, Trump threatened to place tariffs on all Chinese goods entering the U.S., which last year measured around USD 500 billion (EUR 427 billion).
In a sign of progress on trade negotiations, on 22 February, China committed to buying an additional 10 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans, according to an announcement from Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.
However, China has not yet made any firm commitments to addressing Trump’s primary complaints that initially triggered the trade war – namely, protection of the intellection property of U.S. companies, allowing U.S. companies equal access to the Chinese market, and reducing subsidies to state-owned firms in China, according to The New York Times.
The U.S. trade group Tariffs Hurt the Heartland, of which the National Fisheries Institute is a part, issued a statement on 24 February praising the delay of the tariffs. It said existing tariffs cost U.S. business USD 2.7 billion (EUR ) in November 2018, the most recent month of data available from the U.S. Census Bureau, and that the new round of tariffs would have resulted in the loss of around 1 million U.S. jobs.
"We are encouraged by this latest sign of progress and that the administration seems to have heard the concerns of U.S. businesses and farmers who simply cannot afford more tariffs,” the group said. “However, existing tariffs and shifting deadlines are still making it harder for Americans to plan for the future, invest and grow. As we have said repeatedly, we agree with the need to address China's unfair trading practices. But tariffs are ultimately taxes paid by American businesses, and that's why using them as leverage will always be a losing proposition. We need a solution as soon as possible that ends the tariff uncertainty once and for all and improves the U.S.-China trading relationship.”
