United States President Donald Trump announced that he is 'very torn' about ending phase one of the China-US trade deal. His announcement came hours after top trade officials manifested their willingness to implement the agreements despite economic losses in both countries.
United States officials trade representative Robert Lighthizer, treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin, and Chinese vice-premier Liu He discussed the China-US trade war progressions in an overnight phone call. Phase one of the trade agreement took effect in mid-February this year.
US officials announced through a joint statement that both US and China agreed to adequately fulfill their obligations under the trade deal. The decision was made despite the current global health emergency and amid the economic losses that both countries incurred. They also noted that both countries are willing and able to abide by their obligations promptly.
On the other hand, China's commerce ministry also affirmed that both countries are willing to improve the implementation process of phase one of the China-US trade deal. The affirmation called for Beijing to increase its purchases of American agricultural and manufactured goods, including energy services in just two years. The value of products for the exchange was revealed to be 200 billion USD more than the 2017 baseline.
Phase one of the trade deal allegedly brought peace in an 18-month trade war between China and the US - the world's strongest economies. It discussed the manner and value of imports and exports between countries and the waiver of 370 million USD tariff rates on Chinese imports.
Trump then threatened to terminate the obligations and conditions manifested in the trade deal if China would fail to meet its purchase requirements. Last week, he declared that he would reassess the current economic situation this week and consider if terminating the deal would be viable.
China, on the other hand, rejected the Trump administrations regarding that evidence relating to the pandemic were tampered or hidden from the public.
Last Friday, Trump told Fox News that he was "having a tough time with China." His statement came before the US labor department announced that there has been 20.5 million loss of jobs during April due to the pandemic.
Last January, the report claimed that Trump was initially excited about the trade deal signing. However, the pandemic caused several problems that his views allegedly changed. In a statement, he claimed that he feels differently now compared to how he did during the signing. He then affirmed that he was tough on China last January.
Trump and other US officials have shared threats about resorting to punitive action against Beijing, including the imposition of higher tariff rates and shifting US companies' supply chains farther from China.
