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Donald Trump urged to reach ‘phase one’ trade deal with China

On Wednesday, an American for free trade, a coalition of more than 150 associations said in a letter, “We urge you to reach a Phase One deal with China and take the necessary steps to resolve the ongoing trade dispute”.

Donald Trump urged to reach ‘phase one’ trade deal with China

U.S. President Donald Trump. (File Photo: IANS)

An American trade coalition urged President Donald Trump to reach a “phase one” deal with China in an effort to resolve the ongoing trade war between the US and China.

On Wednesday, an American for free trade, a coalition of more than 150 associations said in a letter, “We urge you to reach a Phase One deal with China and take the necessary steps to resolve the ongoing trade dispute”.

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Completion of a phase one deal could slide into next year, trade experts and people close to the White House told Reuters previously, as Beijing presses for more extensive tariff rollbacks and the U.S. administration counters with heightened demands of its own.

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China has invited top U.S. trade negotiators for a new round of face-to-face talks in Beijing, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources, adding Beijing hopes the round of talks can take place before next Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.

Earlier on Wednesday, while delivering a speech in Beijing on the dinner table, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said that he was “cautiously optimistic” on a phase one deal, Bloomberg News reported.

Last month, China and the US were “moving closer to agreeing” on a “phase one” trade deal.

Initially, President Donald Trump had said that he did not yet agree to roll back tariffs. He is expected to have the last word in the United States on terms of any “phase one” deal.

The Chinese government invited United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to Beijing for face-to-face talks, the Wall Street Journal reported. Neither the USTR nor Treasury responded to a request for comment.

On Saturday, U.S. National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien said an initial trade deal with China was still possible by the end of the year. He said it would be “a good sign” if the Hong Kong elections took place without violence.

China had called for a rollback of existing tariffs, to which Trump has said he did not agree. American officials want large purchases of US farm exports.

In September, the US had imposed fresh tariffs on $112 billion worth of Chinese imported goods, marking a sharp escalation of the bruising trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

Donald Trump launched the trade war as part of his “America First” bid to lower a wide trade deficit with China, but the tariffs imposed thus far have barely made a dent in that gap.

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