After more than two years of an escalating trade war with China, President Donald Trump is set to sign “Phase One” of a new trade agreement with Beijing in the White House next month, reports said Tuesday.
The president and Chinese officials will take part in a signing ceremony at the White House in Washington on Jan. 15, 2020.
“High level representatives of China will be present. At a later date I will be going to Beijing where talks will begin on Phase Two!” the president said in a statement.
The White House has released details of the agreement noting that the U.S. will maintain 25-percent tariffs on about $250 billion worth of Chinese imports, and 7.5 percent tariffs on some $120 billion of imports.
In all, that is a 50-percent reduction in tariffs overall.
The deal also includes cancellation of tariffs that were set to go into effect on a remaining $160 billion worth of Chinese-made consumer goods.
Also included in the deal is a requirement that China purchase some $200 billion worth of American-made goods and services over the next two years. That includes $40 to $50 billion in American agricultural goods and products, The Epoch Times reported.
China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, said the deal will “provide stability in global trade.”
Meanwhile, Gao Feng, a spokesman at the Chinese commerce ministry, later told reporters that the countries were in touch and that details of the agreement would be made public after it was signed.
Chinese officials announced shortly before Christmas the country’s intent to sign the Phase One agreement amid the ongoing trade war and slowing domestic economy.
Getting a better trade arrangement with China was a central economic pledge of President Trump’s 2016 campaign.
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