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The main commercial representatives of EE. USA And China downplayed the deep differences over the economic remnants of the coronavirus pandemic and said they would go ahead with the implementation of their “Phase 1” trade deal after an overnight phone call.
United States President Donald Trump, critical of China’s early handling of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan City in late 2019, told the Fox News Channel on Friday that he was “very torn” about whether to end the trade deal. .
United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer discussed the deal with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and United States Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin in the phone call. US officials said in a joint statement that both sides agreed that the obligations would be met.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said the two sides agreed to improve the atmosphere for the implementation of the trade agreement, which requires Beijing to increase its purchases of US agricultural products, manufactured goods, energy and services by $ 200 billion over two years compared to a 2017 baseline.
While China has made some purchases, some observers say they are far behind the pace needed to reach the first-year goal of a $ 77 billion increase, as China’s economy is only now beginning to recover from tax closings. during the pandemic.
In the call, the two sides “agreed that despite the current global health emergency, both countries hope to fulfill their obligations under the agreement in a timely manner,” Lighthizer and Mnuchin said in their statement.
FEEL DIFFERENT
Trump and other top officials have blamed China for the deaths of hundreds of thousands from the outbreak and have threatened punitive actions, including possible tariffs and the displacement of supply chains outside of China.
Trump has said he would end the trade deal if China fails to meet its purchase commitments. He said Wednesday that he would know in a week or two if that was possible.
The statement by the United States suggested that more time might be needed and that the two parties would continue the calls on a “regular” basis.
Calling the Fox News Channel just before the Labor Department announced that 20.5 million non-farm jobs were lost during April amid the coronavirus business shutdown, Trump said the overnight phone call indicated the deal “is moving forward.” .
But he said that although he was initially “very excited” about the trade deal, the pandemic had changed his views on it.
“Look, I feel different than I did. I was the most, I was very hard on China. They have to buy $ 250 billion worth of products, etcetera, etcetera, ”Trump said.
When asked if he was “breaking” the Phase 1 trade deal, Trump said, “I’m very, very, very torn by that, I haven’t decided yet, if you want to know the truth.”
The EE Business Council. US-China, which represents American companies doing business in China, said it was too early to assess China’s compliance with the trade deal, since it only came into effect on February 15 when a health crisis was unfolding. global.
“It would be extremely destabilizing if the president withdrew from the agreement without giving the Chinese a chance to honor their commitments,” USCBC President Craig Allen said in a statement. “So far, China appears to be operating in good faith and has not sought changes to its purchase commitments despite its ability to request them.”
A clause in the agreement allows either party to seek consultations in the event that a natural disaster or other unforeseen circumstances prevent compliance. The clause has not been invoked.
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