Trump and Jinping to discuss lowering tariffs

Bloomberg reports that most or all US tariffs on China are likely to be lifted as part of a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies now in its final stages. US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping could meet later this month to end the year-long trade war between the 2 countries. The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the 2 sides are in the final stages of negotiating a deal that would involve the lowering of Chinese tariffs on a range of US goods if the Trump administration removes broad sanctions against Beijing.

Billions of tariffs

The trade war began in early July of last year when US President Donald Trump introduced tariffs on China for its alleged unfair trade practices. So far, the US has already slapped tariffs on US$ 250 billion worth of Chinese products, and has threatened tariffs on US$ 267 billion more. China, for its part, has set tariffs on US$ 110 billion worth of US goods, and is threatening qualitative measures that would affect US businesses operating in China.

US farmer are hit

American farmers have been hurt by retaliatory tariffs from the US-China trade war, according to Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig (source: CNBC). China imposed levies of between 5% and 10% on $ 60 billion worth of US products effective 24 September 2018. The new tariffs from China are on about 5,200 products and include cocoa powder and frozen vegetables as well as chemical products. China previously slapped tariffs on US soybeans, corn, wheat, sorghum and fresh fruit as well as nuts and certain dairy products. Beijing also has placed hefty import taxes on American pork products which now exceed 70%.