The United States has announced that a phase one trade deal with China has been reached. The historic deal will still need to be approved by President Trump himself.
According to CNBC:
The Trump administration has reached a “phase one” trade deal with China in principle, pending approval from President Donald Trump, three sources close to talks told CNBC on Thursday.
Trump planned to meet with top advisors at 2:30 p.m. ET on Thursday about whether to delay the next round of U.S. tariffs, which are set to take effect Sunday. Duties of 15% would affect about $160 billion in Chinese-made goods including toys, computers, phones and clothing.
The White House has offered to scrap those duties and slash some existing tariffs in half, two sources told CNBC. The U.S. proposed cutting existing duties on $360 billion in Chinese products by 50%.
Washington and Beijing have moved to rein in a trade war between the world’s two largest economies that threatens to drag on global growth. It is unclear exactly how the agreement the news outlet describes differs from a partial deal the president announced in October.
President Trump tweeted Thursday morning that the deal was close and that both countries wanted to reach a deal. It appears he was right and was proven so fairly quickly.
Trump wants a trade deal that covers technology transfers, U.S. intellectual property protections, and trade deficits.
