https://www.foxnews.com/politics/u-s-china-agree-to-90-day-truce-to-has-out-trade-sifferences
During the G20 Summit meeting this past Saturday, President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached an agreement to halt new trade tariffs. This new 90-day truce has been enacted in order to resolve trade disputes between the two nations and ease tension in the U.S.-China trade war. President Trump agreed that he would not boost tariffs on over $200 billion of Chinese goods by January 1st if an agreement is reached. In response, China has since agreed that it would buy an unspecified but “very substantial” amount of agricultural, energy, industrial, and other products from the United States.
Though the United States and China have reached this temporary agreement, high taxes and tariffs still remain. The U.S. has already imposed tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese products. In response, China has placed taxes on $110 billion of American goods. Despite this, the two countries seem to be making progress. According to investment strategist Matthew Asia, “The two sides appear to have had a major change of heart to move away from conferentation towards engagement.” China has also agreed to label fentanyl as a controlled substance, meaning that anyone selling the opioid to the United States will be subjected to maximum penalty under Chinese law.
Do you think an agreement will be reached in 90 days? If so, how it will affect trade between China and the United States? Do you think both nations will eventually be able to resolve the trade war?
Though the United States and China have reached this temporary agreement, high taxes and tariffs still remain. The U.S. has already imposed tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese products. In response, China has placed taxes on $110 billion of American goods. Despite this, the two countries seem to be making progress. According to investment strategist Matthew Asia, “The two sides appear to have had a major change of heart to move away from conferentation towards engagement.” China has also agreed to label fentanyl as a controlled substance, meaning that anyone selling the opioid to the United States will be subjected to maximum penalty under Chinese law.
Do you think an agreement will be reached in 90 days? If so, how it will affect trade between China and the United States? Do you think both nations will eventually be able to resolve the trade war?
I suppose it's anyone's guess as to whether or not an agreement will be reached between Trump and Xi Jinping. Whatever happens, I assume that Trump will probably try to ensure that the United States has something to gain from the result; after all, Trump started what people call this "tariff war" (though Trump would say that former trade deals with China were unfair to begin with), and I assume that he doesn't intend to "lose". However, since I don't think this issue would start a war or anything nearly so serious, I figure that the countries will eventually resolve the conflict, even if it doesn't get solved until years from now.
ReplyDeleteIn my eyes, the most preferable thing to come from this potential agreement would be if both sides agreed to reduce their tariffs on each other to the point that both presidents agree that the trade is fair. Personally, I think that completely removing the tariffs would be best, but I'm not convinced that that will happen.
I know my comment's getting really long by now (and this only tangentially relates to this blog), but I've just realized a tendency in Trump's relationships with foreign leaders. It appears to me that as Trump talks more with leaders of other nations, he gets more agreeable with them and tends to negotiate more instead of merely threatening them. Trump's (and, to an extent, America's) relationships with Russia's Putin, North Korea's Kim Jong-un, and China's Xi Jinping all seem to be improving, generally speaking. Additionally, the President's agreements with the Canadian and Mexican governments exemplify this as well. I think that this is an important thing to note, as these things cannot be said about every American president.
I think that it can't quite be all negotiated away in 90 days because it's such a big deal; these are the world's two biggest economies. That fact leads to the idea of additional political pressure from other countries that are also being heavily affected by this trade war, which increases the chance that something will really change. In addition, I think this is definitely a moment when Trump's background as a business man is actually beneficial for his current position for presidency. With all of this in mind, I think that the US and China will eventually resolve the tariff war, though perhaps not in 90 days. (Naturally, this will affect trade between China and the United States positively, as many more products will be sold by both countries.)
ReplyDelete90 days seems like a very short time period to make such a decision so I'd like to see that deadline extended. The high tariffs could dissuade China from selling as many of their products here. This could be very detrimental to the American economy because as we know a ton of our products are produced in China. I am positive that both nations will come to an agreement or compromise. As to what the terms of this decision will entail, I guess we shall see. I am also very happy to hear about China's condemnation of fentanyl; I hope that this helps fight the opioid epidemic.
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