President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will sign a “Phase One” trade deal with China on Jan. 15, and plans to visit China soon to start talks on a “Phase Two.”
This story by David Jackson and John Fritze originally appeared in USA Today.
Trump and aides still have not provided documents detailing what the first phase of an overall agreement involves. Financial analysts said they are eager to see what is actually in the reportedly voluminous deal.
Some financial analysts have questioned whether the proposed deal truly addresses what they called China’s unfair trade tactics.
Others said the agreement will at least de-escalate the U.S.-China tariff war that has spooked investors and slowed the world economy.
Trump has made his vow to crack down on Chinese trade practices a major part of his 2020 election campaign.
The president announced the planned signing just minutes before financial markets in the U.S. opened for the final day of the year. Markets dropped slightly in early trading.
When Trump and Chinese officials announced the phase one agreement in mid-December, the U.S. agreed to shelve plans to impose new tariffs on $160 billion of Chinese goods that had been set to take effect Dec. 15.
Officials said the deal includes gradual reductions of other tariff rates and increased Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural products, but neither side has published a specific document.
Analysts questioned whether the deal meaningfully answers U.S. demands that China drop requirements that companies provide intellectual property and technology secrets to the government as conditions of doing business there – key points in any overall trade agreement between the U.S. and China.
Peter Navarro, a White House trade adviser, told CNBC that the opening phase of the trade deal does address intellectual property theft, and should be pleasing to banks, insurance companies and credit card companies.
