Tariffs must be lowered if China and the U.S. are to strike a temporary trade pact, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday, keeping its stance that some U.S. tariffs have to be rolled back.
"The Chinese side believes that tariffs should be reduced appropriately if the two sides are to enter a phase one settlement," Ministry spokesman Gao Feng told reporters, adding that both sides have kept good contact.
Completion of a step one agreement between the world's two largest economies were initially expected in November, ahead of a fresh round of U.S. tariffs set to kick in on December 15, covering about $156 billion in Chinese imports.
Trade delegations by the two economic superpowers remained locked in continuous discussions that cover "key issues of concern," with bilateral strains being tackled along with other non-trade issues.
All Talk for Now
Last week, China's top trade diplomat, Vice Premier Liu, spoke via telephone with US officials Robert Lighthizer and Trade Representative Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin.
"The leaders spoke about reaching an agreement, and officials are now finishing the job," sources said, who claimed it was doubtful that China might react against U.S. legislation by publishing its so-called "unreliable list of institutions" to blacklist companies considered adverse to Chinese interests.
The office of US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer did not react to an emailed statement regarding the rollback. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce also did not immediately reply to a fax seeking tariff push-backs comment.
Trump, speaking to German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a summit in London on Wednesday, said the negotiations are going very well with China. "We are going to make a lot of improvement," he added.
The Waiting Game
Beijing, on the other hand, could hold back from releasing the list until the trade situation with Washington is at its most clear and serious, a source from the Chinese government told Reuters in October.
Trump said trade negotiations with China are going "smooth" on Wednesday, sounding more hopeful than his comments the day before that a settlement might have to wait until after the US presidential election in 2020.
On November 7, Gao said that China and the United States would mutually exert more efforts to revoke certain current tariffs on products for both sides before they could make a closure for an elusive phase one trade deal, but how many tariffs could be agreed to be canceled remains to be seen.
