President Trump’s trade war with China is locked in the equivalent of trench warfare. Every deadline the U.S. set for an agreement has passed without one. Both sides are unwilling to compromise on key provisions, and although “updates” are frequent, there seems to have been little, if any, real progress.
As negotiators continue their endless meetings and calls, however, consumers, businesses, and the economy continue to take a hit from the punishing tariffs. That has left lawmakers eager to figure out what is actually going on and wondering when they can expect a deal. Unfortunately, Tuesday’s testimony from U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer before the Senate Finance Committee didn’t yield many answers, indicating a deal with China remains as elusive as ever.
Responding to a question by Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, who served as the trade representative under President George W. Bush, Lighthizer explained, “We’re either going to have a good result or we’re going to have a bad result before too long, but I’m not setting a specific time frame and it’s not up to me.” Then he added, “I’ll work as hard as I can, and the president will tell me when the time is up, or the Chinese will.”
But it’s not just Lighhizer’s testimony that calls into question rosy predictions of a forthcoming agreement.
Trump’s economic adviser Larry Kudlow, has repeatedly indicated there might not be a deal at all. Even Trump seemed to acknowledge this possibility. During the press conference in Vietnam following failed talks with North Korea, he told reporters, “I am always prepared to walk. I’m never afraid to walk from a deal,” adding, “And I would do that with China, too, if it didn’t work out.”
Then, over the weekend, an op-ed published by the English language arm of Chinese state media, called U.S. demands “an intrusion on China’s sovereignty” and hinted that China would sooner weather a protracted trade fight than give into what it would consider an unfair deal.
Given that neither side, notwithstanding Trump’s Twitter feed, seems to think a deal is close or that an impasse on disagreements is likely, the trade war seems to have stalled into a stalemate. That leaves the U.S. economy to suffer without reaping the promised gains of a better deal.
