UPDATE:

WSJ confirmed that the Phase One deal has been finalized! It covers Agriculture, Intellectual Property Protection, Tech Transfer, Financial Opening and Currency.

After several rounds of tariffs on Chinese and U.S. made products in their respective markets, China and the U.S. have finally come very close to a mini trade deal. This news should come as a relief to companies based in both the markets as it will reduce as well as eliminate the new set of tariffs expected to be imposed on goods from China starting December 15. 

The U.S. President Trump tweeted yesterday night that the U.S. was getting “VERY close to a BIG DEAL with China”. The exact details of the deal are not yet official, but the U.S. has reportedly agreed to scale back some of its existing tariffs on Chinese goods. The deal would also remove the next round of tariffs that would have hit another $150 billion worth of Chinese goods from December 15. In return, China will pledge in writing to purchase $50 billion worth of U.S. agricultural goods, among other items in 2020. 

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The upcoming round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods starting December 15 would have been damaging to both the countries. It included essential consumer goods such as smartphones, gaming consoles, computer monitors, and even clothing and footwear. On the same day, China would have imposed its own set of tariffs on American made goods such as automobiles, auto parts, corn, wheat, small aircrafts, among other items. 

While this Phase I trade pact is almost official from the U.S. side, we are yet to hear an official announcement from the Chinese authorities. We won’t have to wait too long though, as an official statement or an absence of one before December 15 would confirm the status of the deal.

Note that this phase one trade deal is unlikely to decide Huawei‘s fate who’s currently on the U.S. entity list. This deal is more focused on working out an amicable agreement before the next round on hefty tariffs that’ll come into effect this Sunday, which will be damaging for both the markets. 

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(Source)

The post (UPDATE: Deal Finalized) U.S. and China very close to a Mini Trade deal, First real progress in months appeared first on Gizmochina.