The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office said Friday that recent negotiations between the United States and Beijing were productive and that they were “close to finalizing” parts of the deal. The Trump administration and Beijing are working on “phase one” of putting in writing parts of a deal reached earlier this month.
“They made headway on specific issues, and the two sides are close to finalizing some sections of the agreement. Discussions will go on continuously at the deputy level, and the principals will have another call in the near future,” the administration said, following a meeting in Washington between U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.
President Trump announced a framework for a trade deal with Beijing on Oct. 11 that would require a two- or three-phase process to be completed. Administration officials have recently indicated that three phases will likely be required.
“We’re moving along nicely. We’re dealing with them right now. And a lot of good things are happening with China. They want to make a deal very badly,” Trump told reporters Friday at the White House. “They’re going to be buying much more farm products than anybody thought possible.”
Beijing is pushing the White House to abandon plans to impose new tariffs of 15% on $156 billion worth of Chinese goods. The White House has indicated that the tariff threats are needed to ensure Beijing sticks to the agreement made earlier this month.
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