US President Donald Trump will sign the first phase of a trade deal with China on 15 January 2020 in a move aimed at massively deescalating the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
In a press briefing on 31 December, Trump said the deal would be signed “probably on January 15th” and that he will be going to Beijing in the near future.
Port Technology International reported on 13 December 2019 that the first phase of a trade deal had been agreed. This will see tariffs on $250 billion worth of trade remain at 25%.
As part of the deal, the US cancelled a planned set of 15% tariffs on goods from China, which were expected to come into effect on 15 December 2019.
Also included in the deal is a commitment from China to buy more US farming products and increase intellectual property protections.
The trade war between the US and China has been one of the biggest challenges to the global economy since it began in January 2017, with an approximate total of $400 billion being levied on goods between the two countries.
