IABRN — American and Chinese officials today (Friday) confirmed the first phase of a trade agreement.
President Donald Trump stated, “We have agreed to a very large phase one deal with China. They (China) have agreed to many structural changes and massive purchases of agricultural products, energy and manufactured goods, plus more.”
In terms of agriculture, the President believes, “Farmers are going to have to buy much larger tractors because it means a lot of business.” Administration officials expect China to purchase between $40 to $50 billion of United States agricultural products.
“The numbers they have talked about committing to, $40 to $50 billion, would be double what they have imported before. If we can get those kinds of numbers, commitments, then there’s going to be a real bonanza for agriculture going forward,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said.
Today’s announcement comes just days before an additional round of tariffs was to be imposed. United States officials cancelled plans to impose tariffs on $156 billion of Chinese goods and announced their intentions to reduce tariffs on roughly $120 billion of Chinese goods from 15-percent to seven-point-five-percent. A 25-percent tariff rate will remain on roughly $250 billion of Chinese goods.
Phase two negotiations will begin immediately, according to President Trump.
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IABRN — It is the news we have been waiting for over a year and a half. A negotiated partial trade deal has been reached between the United States and China. President Trump has been briefed on the deal and has given his approval.
The particulars of the agreement are still coming in at this point. Bloomberg News earlier reported that negotiators from the United States offered to reduce tariffs on roughly $375 billion dollars’ worth of Chinese goods by 50%. They also would suspend the new tariffs on $160 billion in Chinese goods expected to go into effect on Sunday, December 15th. Reports state the Chinese agreed to buy more U.S. Ag products. Amounts are not yet known.
However, the only thing we can confirm as of Thursday afternoon is that the new tariffs are not going to happen.
Back in October we first heard of this deal. President Trump was pushing China to make $50 billion in agricultural products. The Chinese had been reluctant to agree to that. Sources say that the only reason the deal wasn’t done in October is that the Chinese never officially signed off on it. That is why we have been in this boat for the past couple of months.
We will have more on this as it develops in the coming days.
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IABRN — United States lawmakers this week pushed forward the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. It was announced today that the United States may have made progress on yet another trade front.
President Donald Trump earlier today announced, “(We’re) getting very close to a big deal with China,” following a trade meeting at the White House. He went on to add, “They want it, and so do we.”
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue missed this morning’s meeting, as he previously agreed to speak at Farmer2Farmer V in Omaha, NE. Secretary Perdue, however, focused heavily on trade during his presentation.
“President Trump is focusing on the phase one deal that rebalances the trading relationship (with China) and achieves meaningful, enforceable commitments to resolve the structural issues,” Secretary Perdue said.
Secretary Perdue remains “hopeful,” when it comes to a renewed partnership with China. He cites recent actions, which indicate China remains committed to cutting a deal.
“We see good signs – Relieving some tariffs on beans and pork, as well as opening up their markets to poultry for the first time in years,” Secretary Perdue said. “A broad spread of sectors are going to benefit from a China deal, if we are able to get that done.”
Secretary Perdue believes President Trump would like to resolve this matter before the November 2020 election or before December 15, when additional tariffs are to go into effect. However, he says it all depends on China. Secretary Perdue offers insight on parts of the agreement, which look promising for United States agricultural producers.
“The numbers they (China) have talked about committing too, 40- to 50-billion dollars, would be double of what they have imported before. If we can get those numbers, commitments and make sure the deal does the deal, then there is going to be a bonanza for agriculture going forward,” Secretary Perdue said.
This article originally appeared on the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network
