![Trump said the pending phase one of a US-China trade pact would 'take care of the farmers' [File: Carlos Barria/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/imagecache/mbdxxlarge/mritems/Images/2019/10/28/03bdbe94e53246a99b3f7958f0969c75_18.jpg)
Links to Original Articles:
https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2019/10/26/business/26reuters-usa-trade-china.html?searchResultPosition=3
https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/trump-phase-china-trade-deal-schedule-191028135526354.html
In light of Trump's proposed increase in tariffs to Chinese goods on October 15, China and the US have been engaging in negotiations that could potentially set up a long term resolution to the ensuing trade war. Originally, Trump threatened on October 1st to raise tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports from 25% to 30%. In response China agreed to purchase a sizable portion of farmed American agricultural goods. In "a gesture of good will," Trump agreed to initially delay the tariffs to October 15th and later totally cancelled them after positive talks between the 2 countries.
Trump hopes to finalize a phase 1 trade agreement for the approaching Chile summit which would include a lift on the Chinese ban on US poultry for the US importation of on Chinese poultry and catfish products. Besides these confirmed agreements, both sides aspire to lift existing tariffs implemented in exchange for the purchasing of more agricultural products. This phase 1 deal if implemented should hopefully continue to further deescalation of the trade war.
This seems to be a possibly monumentous agreement as it could be a turning point to economic stability between China and the US. I'm still a little concerned about the dangerous approach Trump used by threatening China with increased tariffs, but it seems it will pay off with a step towards agreements. I'm optimistic that the end of the trade war is approaching, but until a formal agreement is reached there's room to be skeptical.
Do you agree with Trump's approach to resolving the trade war?
Could this phase 1 agreement be a step towards total deescalation?
3 comments:
With regards to the first question, I’m not entirely sure I agree with Trump’s approach to resolving the trade war. While he at least is attempting to solve the problem, he started the whole fiasco in the first place, so I don’t think he deserves any praise if he’s able to de-escalate the situation. As for the second question, I definitely think that this phase 1 agreement is a step in the right direction. The fact is we are unabashedly tied to China economically, and setting up tariffs are in no way helping the US and global economy. Hopefully with Trump’s attempts, we will be walking away from another recession, something I was certain was going to happen had Trump pursued this trade war with China.
While Trump's solution may get him to his goal right not, I don't think that Trump's approach to solving the trade war will work out in the long run. It seems like Trump is pushing China into a corner, forcing them to abide by his wishes and punishing them if they do not. While this negotiation could lead to short term deescalation, in the long run, this will most likely lead to resentment from the Chinese, creating tense relations between the two countries and leaving very little room for improvement. As the New York Times article mentions, this current deal leaves "little incentive for China to negotiate further." Instead of forcing his own opinion into the deal, Trump should host a balanced negotiation, one where China has a reason to continue discussions with America.
I believe Trump's intentions with his Phase 1 Trade Deal is pretty justified, but his method of approaching and resolving the problem isn't really ideal. His method almost seems as if he is demanding for China to agree with his proposal as he states that he would raise tariffs on them if they did not agree. The progress I believe is approaching the right direction as it would benefit both economies of China and the US. It indeed is a deescalation from the trade war as he is trying to propose ways that would please both China and the US. However, his proposition might be misleading and pushy, and could ultimately lead to an escalation in the trade war depending on how China interprets it.
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