sputnik--2019-09-09--UK Lawmakers Reject Snap Parliamentary Election

To call a snap election, the government needs 434 votes - two-thirds of all legislators elected to the 650-seat lower house of the UK parliament. In a vote in the early hours of Tuesday, only 293 lawmakers backed the government's proposal.  The vote came just before a five-week suspension of parliament, a move announced earlier by Johnson.  "Once again, the opposition think they know better", Johnson said in the early hours of Tuesday, right after the vote.  Nevertheless, the prime minister immediately announced that he would make another proposal to hold snap elections in the near future. Opposition officials said that they would discuss holding snap parliamentary elections only after Johnson agreed with Brussels on the postponement of Brexit and on the terms of the withdrawal agreement.  Johnson told the UK parliament on Monday, ahead of a vote on whether a snap election should be held, that an election is the only way to break the deadlock over Brexit.  "Mr. Speaker, I am re-tabling a motion for an early date general election, I don't want it, I hoped this step would be unnecessary [...] Yet I have accepted the reality that an election is the only way to break the deadlock in the House (of Commons) and to serve the national interest by giving whoever is prime minister the strongest possible mandate to negotiate for our country at next month's European council", Johnson said, cited by Reuters.  Johnson said that if Parliament did not vote for a snap election, he would go to the EU summit next month seeking to agree on a deal, but would not ask for another delay to Brexit.  "I will not ask for another delay", Johnson said Monday.  UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn argued on Monday, "we are not walking into traps laid by this prime minister", noting that Johnson is trying to take the country "over a cliff of a no-deal exit", adding it will damage the poorest and most vulnerable in the country.  "Until [...] no-deal has been taken off the table... we will not vote to support the dissolution of this house and a general election [...] We're eager for an election. But as keen as we are, we are not prepared to risk inflicting the disaster of no-deal on our communities", Corbyn told Parliament in a debate about holding the snap election.  UK lawmakers also voted earlier on Monday in favor of forcing the government to publish its planning documents for a no-deal Brexit scenario. Members of parliament voted 311 to 302 in favor of the motion earlier in the day.  The UK government now has until Wednesday 11:00 p.m. (22:00 GMT) to publish all correspondence, including informal communications via Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram.  Earlier on Monday, a bill aimed at blocking a no-deal Brexit in late October became law after receiving the formal assent of Queen Elizabeth II. The bill aims to avoid leaving the European Union without a deal.  The legislation forces UK Prime Minister Johnson to ask for a delay unless a deal has been agreed with the bloc or the parliament votes for a no-deal Brexit by 19 October.  On Friday, UK opposition parties agreed to protest Johnson's plan for a snap election, seeking to avoid it taking place prior to the 31 October Brexit deadline.  Currently, Brexit is at a standstill. The country’s parliament is opposed to the agreement with the European Union in its current form, but is also unilaterally opposed to a no-deal Brexit. The European Union has refused to resume negotiations and revise the agreement. Johnson insists that the United Kingdom will leave the European Union as scheduled, on 31 October, with or without a deal.


channel4uk--2019-07-04--Chinese international relations expert The UK is in no position to bluff against China

Chinese international relations expert: ‘The UK is in no position to bluff against China’

From Beijing, we speak to the Chinese international relations expert – and translator to the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping – Victor Gao. We began by asking him if “one country, two systems” is now over.


tass--2019-03-15--Any foreign interference in Venezuela to harm future international relations diplomat

Any foreign interference in Venezuela to harm future international relations — diplomat

BRUSSELS, March 15. /TASS/. Any interference into the crisis in Venezuela will deal a serious blow to the basis and the future of international relations, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said.  "We believe that Venezuelans need to find the solution on their own, through a broad dialogue. Anything else, including calls to recognize some illegitimate president constitute a very serious violation of the fundamental basis of international relations and of the basic principles of the UN charter. We must not let this happen, because it’s not only about Venezuela, it’s about how we view the future of international relations today," he said.  The Russian deputy foreign minister added that the UN Security Council has already rejected the Russian and US draft resolutions on situation in the country.  "Of course, we could not give our consent to the US variant, which constituted a blatant, totally cynical interference into the domestic affairs of a country and envisaged the use of humanitarian aid for political purposes," he said.  In other media


activistpost--2019-10-07--China Takes A Comprehensive Trade Deal Off The Table, And That Is Disastrous News For The U.S. Econo

China Takes A Comprehensive Trade Deal Off The Table, And That Is Disastrous News For The U.S. Economy

The Chinese never intended to make a deal, and now they are publicly admitting it. For months, I have been warning readers of The Economic Collapse Blog that a comprehensive trade deal with China will not happen before the 2020 presidential election, and the reason why this is the case is actually very simple. The Chinese have concluded that President Trump will never give them the kind of deal that they are looking for, and so their entire goal has been to run out the clock on the Trump administration so that they can finally get to a Democrat who will be much more “reasonable” to deal with.  Of course if Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders wins the election, they won’t be very “reasonable” either, and so the best-case scenario for the Chinese is for either Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton to emerge victorious in November 2020. In any event, the Chinese are now being very clear about the fact that they are never, ever going to agree to Trump’s core demands. The following comes from CNBC…  Chinese officials are growing hesitant to pursue a broad trade deal with the U.S. in negotiations set to begin this Thursday, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News. Vice Premier Liu He, who will lead negotiations for China, told dignitaries that his offer to the U.S. will not include commitments on reforming Chinese industrial policy or government subsidies, according to to Bloomberg. These are among the Trump administration’s main demands in the trade talks.  In essence, the Chinese have completely taken a comprehensive trade deal off the table, and they probably believe that Trump’s looming impeachment may make him more agreeable to a more limited deal that would be more favorable to the Chinese.  But Trump is holding his ground, and he continues to insist that his negotiating stance has not changed…  Trump has said repeatedly he would entertain only an all-encompassing deal with China. People close to him say he remains firm in that view. “We’ve had good moments with China. We’ve had bad moments with China. Right now, we’re in a very important stage in terms of possibly making a deal,” Trump told reporters on Friday. “But what we’re doing is we’re negotiating a very tough deal. If the deal is not going to be 100% for us, then we’re not going to make it.”  So what all of this means is that we should not expect any sort of a trade deal any time soon.  Unfortunately, the longer this trade war stretches on, the more painful it will become for our economy. Big companies are laying off workers all across America, and there are some industries that are being absolutely devastated by this trade conflict.  See: 177 Different Ways to Generate Extra Income  For example, just check out what has been happening to the lumber industry… • China used to account for about half of all U.S. hardwood lumber exports, about $2 billion annually. The Trump administration’s 25% tariff cut that demand. • In the 12 months since tariffs on U.S. hardwood were announced in July of last year, lumber exports to China were down by $615 million compared with the previous year, according to the American Hardwood Export Council. • In June of this year alone, when the full tariff rate went into effect, trade volume to China was half what it was a year ago.  Of course the lumber industry is far from alone. All over the country the impact of the trade war can be clearly seen, and we just learned that September was the worst month for U.S. manufacturers in more than a decade.  As the U.S. economy slows down, the mainstream media will gleefully blame Trump for our troubles. Just check out the following excerpt from Paul Krugman’s most recent article entitled “Here Comes The Trump Slump”…  Now the U.S. economy is going through another partial slump. Once again, manufacturing is contracting. Agriculture is also taking a severe hit, as is shipping. Overall output and employment are still growing, but around a fifth of the economy is effectively in recession. But unlike previous presidents, who were just unlucky to preside over slumps, Trump has done this to himself, largely by choosing to wage a trade war he insisted would be “good, and easy to win.”  Even though we are way overdue for a recession, and even though the Federal Reserve has more control over our economy than anyone else does, the mainstream media is going to relentlessly push the narrative that Trump’s trade war has created a giant mess for the U.S. economy. And without a doubt, this trade war is causing economic pain, but placing 100 percent of the blame on Trump is not intellectually honest.  Unfortunately, the mainstream media is just going to keep telling us that everything would be just fine if it wasn’t for this trade war. The following is an excerpt from a recent CNN article entitled “America’s economy is slowing. Ending the trade war could fix that”…


bigleaguepolitics--2019-12-14--ART OF THE DEAL: China Agrees to First Phase of Trade Deal With Trump

On Thursday, December 12, 2019, President Donald Trump signed off on a mini-trade deal with China.  Trump then followed up with the Phase One Deal with China on Friday, December 13, 2019.  This tentative agreement, which Trump describes as a “phase one” deal, codifies what was originally agreed to back in October.  Trending: Meet the Female Georgia Republican Who Plans to Dismantle Planned Parenthood  It will demand that China significantly increase its purchases of U.S. agricultural products, open up its financial services sector, and implement new protections against the theft of intellectual property.  take our poll - story continues below  Trump tweeted, “We have agreed to a very large Phase One Deal with China. They have agreed to many structural changes and massive purchases of Agricultural Product, Energy, and Manufactured Goods, plus much more. The 25% Tariffs will remain as is, with 7 1/2% put on much of the remainder….”  He then added, “…..The Penalty Tariffs set for December 15th will not be charged because of the fact that we made the deal. We will begin negotiations on the Phase Two Deal immediately, rather than waiting until after the 2020 Election. This is an amazing deal for all. Thank you!”  Additionally, Trump is expected to cancel a 15 percent tariff that was slated for Sunday. Trump is also expected to slash duty rates that are already imposed on previous goods affected by tariffs such as clothing, flat panel TVs, and footwear.  The trade deal will also include new rules demanding China to be more transparent in its currency valuations with respect to the dollar. The Trump administration has already declared that China is a currency manipulator because Beijing intentionally lowers the value of the renminbi— the currency’s official name — thus making exports cheaper.  The second phase of negotiations with China will attempt to tackle systemic trade issues that U.S. companies have complained about for decades, such as Beijing’s subsidization of state-owned companies and the Chinese’ government’s constant demands that multinationals transfer technology in order to operate in China.  So far, Trump has gotten the China issue right.  The country’s not too distant past of authoritarianism should worry Western countries as China becomes more powerful on the world stage.  Tough diplomacy, trade pressure, and other forms of soft power should continue to be used to contain China’s influence.  Trump’s trade deal is a good place to start, however.


breitbart--2019-08-25--G7 Surprise Donald Trump Announces Trade Deal In Principle Agreement with Japan

G7 Surprise: Donald Trump Announces Trade Deal In Principle Agreement with Japan

“This is a tremendous deal for the United States,” Trump said after announcing the deal with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. “It’s a, really, tremendous deal for our farmers and agricultural ranchers, and also involves other things.”  The two leaders agreed on a deal in principle, which they expected would be signed during the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September.  After withdrawing from the proposed Trans-Pacific partnership, Trump pursued a bi-lateral deal with Japan since becoming president. The president developed a close personal friendship with Abe and continued pressing for a better deal for the United States.  Trump hailed the deal as a big step for American farmers, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the private sector would likely purchase new volumes of corn from the United States. Japan is also expected to cut tariffs on American beef, pork and agricultural products  “We believe that there is a need for us to implement emergency support measures for the Japanese private sector to have the early purchase of the American corn,” Abe said via a translator, noting that Japan was experiencing pests in their crops.  United States Trade Representative Robert Lightgizer said the deal included agriculture products, industrial tariffs, and digital trade, but did not share additional details.  “We look forward to finishing the additional work and having it be implemented as soon as possible in Japan and the United States,” he said.


breitbart--2019-08-26--Watch Trump Announces Trade Deal with Japan

Watch: Trump Announces Trade Deal with Japan

“We’ve been working on a deal with Japan for a long time. It involves agriculture and e-commerce and many other things. It’s a very big transaction and we’ve agreed in principle” Trump said at a press conference where he was seated beside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. “It’s billions and billions of dollars.”  Trump said that the deal would open Japan to additional U.S. agricultural exports. In particular, Trump said Japan had agreed to buy surplus corn from U.S. farmers.  Trump said he expected the two leaders would sign a deal next month.  U.S. auto tariffs, which Japan has been asking to be reduced, will stay in place. But the deal rules out those tariffs going even higher. And U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said other tariffs would be cut.  The corn part of the deal should alleviate some of the economic pressures on U.S. farmers from China’s retaliatory tariffs. China had promised to buy additional U.S. farm products, but that has fallen by the wayside as trade tensions have escalated over the past month.


breitbart--2019-12-13--Job Creators Network: Trump China Trade Deal 'Another Major Victory for Small Businesses'

Job Creators Network, one of the country’s largest pro-jobs grassroots organizations, praised President Donald Trump’s newly announced trade deal with China.  “President Trump notched another major victory for small businesses and ordinary Americans with the Phase One trade deal with China. The agreement will significantly benefit small businesses, farmers, and ordinary Americans,” said Alfredo Ortiz, president and CEO of the Job Creators Network in a statement.  “The deal requires China to make significant purchases of U.S. agricultural and manufacturing goods while making long-overdue structural reforms to protect American entrepreneurs’ intellectual property and technology,” Ortiz said. “The trade agreement comes on the heels of House Democratic agreement to support Trump’s USMCA, which will update NAFTA for the 21st century.”  Indeed, President Trump announced Friday that his administration had reached what he called “Phase One” one of major trade deal with China.  “Yesterday’s landslide election victory for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also paves the way for a bilateral free trade agreement between the U.S. and U.K. which will provide even more opportunities for American small businesses,” Ortiz continued. “President Trump is successfully reorienting global trade networks in America’s favor, opening up new markets for exports while overcoming the unfair practices conducted by trading partners.”  Jerome Hudson is Breitbart News Entertainment Editor and author of the bestselling book 50 Things They Don’t Want You to Know. Order your copy today. Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter and Instagram @jeromeehudson.


breitbart--2019-12-13--White House Expects Phase One China Trade Deal to Be Signed in January

The White House on Friday said it expects the new phase one trade deal with China would be finished in the first week of January 2020, in a briefing with reporters detailing the deal.  White House senior advisor Larry Kudlow said the deal would be signed by Ambassador Robert Lighthizer and the Chinese vice premiere in a few weeks at the administerial level, after all of the documents were completed. A senior administration official told reporters that the they expected that date to be in the first week of 2020.  Kudlow praised the deal as a “very important first step” representing real progress with China that covered “all of the key chapters.”  He ticked off a list of achievements including tariff adjustments, Chinese commitments to purchase American goods, financial service reform, currency reform, intellectual property rights, and reform of the Chinese forced transfer of technology.  A senior administration official told reporters that China agreed to increase its American goods and services purchases by at least $200 billion in the next two years, with an average of $40-$50 billion in agricultural products.  “We are very comfortable that our farmers and ranchers and growers can meet those numbers,” the official said.  The official confirmed that the deal would include a strong enforcement mechanism that would ensure that the commitments from China would take place. He said:  If we decide that China has violated a provision of the agreement, we can take responsive action and/or suspend concessions under the agreement. It could take the form of tariffs but we have the ability to take that action if they’re not abiding by their commitments.  Trump agreed not to level additional tariffs scheduled for December 15 and even cut tariffs leveled in September in half. The original 25 percent tariff remains in place as the president pursues phase two of the trade deal with China.  “There are other issues that we need to address moving forward and we’re very much committed to doing that,” the official said, assuring that the 25 percent tariff would remain.


businessinsider--2019-09-12--The Trump administration has reportedly discussed a China trade deal that would lift some tariffs

The Trump administration has reportedly discussed a plan to offer China a deal that would include a rollback of some tariffs, which could defuse tensions in a more than yearlong trade war that has rattled the world's largest economies.  Bloomberg reported on Thursday that under the agreement, the US would remove some of its punishing tariffs on Chinese goods in return for commitments to increase agricultural purchases and change intellectual-property rules. The White House did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.  Ahead of high-level trade meetings set to take place in Washington in early October, the two sides have offered one another what appeared to be modest olive branches in recent days.  China said on Wednesday that it would shield 16 American product types from retaliatory tariffs for one year from next Tuesday. While the move was seen in part as a way to mitigate domestic costs, President Donald Trump announced hours later that he would delay some planned escalations for two weeks.  The move to suspend tariff increases on roughly $250 billion worth of Chinese products until mid-October was made "at the request of the Vice Premier of China, Liu He, and due to the fact that the People's Republic of China will be celebrating their 70th Anniversary on October 1st," the president wrote in two tweets.  The Trump administration still plans to extend tariffs in December to virtually all imports from China. Earlier this month, each side targeted more of the other's products with new import taxes as tensions escalated dramatically.  Read more: A majority of Americans think a recession will strike in the next year — and they're blaming Trump's trade war


businessinsider--2019-09-17--Trump says a trade deal with China might not happen until after the 2020 elections

President Donald Trump on Tuesday dimmed hopes for an imminent détente with China, telling reporters that a trade deal might not happen until after the 2020 elections.  Deputy-level meetings are scheduled to begin on Thursday in Washington, according to a top US Trade Representative official. The meetings are meant to pave the way for higher-level negotiations, but the two sides remain divided on key issues.  "If it's after the election, it'll be a deal like you've never seen," Trump said aboard Air Force One. "It'll be the greatest deal ever, and China knows that. They think I'm going to win. China thinks I'm going to win so easily. And they're concerned because I told them if it's after the election, it's going to be far worse than what it is right now."  Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue said at a press conference on Monday that Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer had similarly told business executives that it had been a challenge to reach a deal and that the two sides had a significant amount of work left to do.  Lighthizer "was pretty clear that we have to do this one step at a time but that this has to be real agreement," Donohue said.  The Trump administration has struggled to make tangible progress on trade issues in China that it identified in a Section 301 investigation last year, such as intellectual-property theft and how to enforce any new rules to address it.  Read more: Dem candidates stumble on how to counter Trump on the trade war with China  Just as the two sides were on the cusp of a deal this spring, the US said China reneged on nearly all its commitments in a draft document, leading to a series of significant tariff escalations and stalled negotiations for several weeks.  Trump has also expressed frustration about the trade balance between the two sides. He has for months sought to open the market in China back up to American farmers, who have dealt with steep retaliatory tariffs on agricultural products for more than a year.  "It is expected that China will be buying large amounts of our agricultural products!" Trump tweeted last week.  Markets Insider is looking for a panel of millennial investors. If you're active in the markets, CLICK HERE to sign up.


businessinsider--2019-10-07--Trump signs trade deal with Japan as tensions escalate with China and the EU

• The deal would reopen some of the markets farmers had lost access to after the US withdrew from a multilateral Asia-Pacific pact in early 2017. • But critics have said it only recovered a portion of the benefits from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a now 11-country trade agreement Trump withdrew the US from within his first week in office.  President Donald Trump signed a final trade agreement with Japan on Monday that would reopen some of the markets farmers had lost access to after the US withdrew from a multilateral Asia-Pacific pact in early 2017.  "I think we're at a stage with Japan where our relationship has never been better than it is right now," Trump said at a press conference in the Roosevelt Room, portraying the deal as a major win for farmers and ranchers.  US officials estimated the deal would reduce tariffs for roughly $7 billion worth of American agricultural products including cheese, wine, beef, pork, wheat, and almonds. The US would in turn lower tariffs on Japanese industrial goods under the agreement, which would also set stricter terms for digital trade between the two sides.  But critics have said it only recovered a portion of the benefits from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a now 11-country trade agreement Trump withdrew the US from within his first week in office.  "Why we'd walk away from that in order to take this is beyond me," Senator Tom Carper, a Democrat from Delaware and a ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said on Bloomberg TV last month. "Is it better than nothing? It is. But it's not even close to the Trans-Pacific Partnership."  The agreement did not touch on current auto tariffs or additional ones that Trump threatened Japan with last year on the basis of national security concerns. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said he was assured the country would be spared from such measures, but that was not explicitly laid out in the text.  "It certainly is the Japanese ambition to have car tariffs be discussed," US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a call with reporters after the deal was reached. "But at this point, it's not part of this agreement."  The Trump administration has increasingly sought to placate farmers, who have suffered financial losses from broader tariff disputes with China and other trading partners. After a separate World Trade Organization decision last week, the US said it would hit the European Union with tariffs on agricultural items and hundreds of other imports.  While Trump has found support in calls to address Chinese trade practices seen as unfair, critics warned American allies should be involved in that process. The president has separated himself from that approach in office as he withdrew from deals like the TPP and slapped metal tariffs on the EU and elsewhere.  "Bigger picture, as we sign these deals with our largest trading partners — Japan, USMCA, EU — it puts increasing pressure on China to ink a deal with us," said Dave Walton, a soybean farmer in Iowa. "They do so by making China see them as competitors for our trade."  The agreement was announced on a preliminary basis in August. On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month, the US and Japan signed an agreement-in-principle. The move on Monday afternoon concluded the final text of the deal.  Now read: Ray Dalio warns the White House's latest plan to clamp down on Chinese investment could soon become a reality. Here's why he thinks 'all market participants need to worry.'


businessinsider--2019-10-09--China is reportedly open to a partial trade deal with the US — but only if Trump scales back planned

China is reportedly open to a partial trade deal with the US — but only if Trump scales back planned tariffs

• China appeared to ease its tone toward the US ahead of high-stakes trade talks set for the end of the week. • Bloomberg reported early Wednesday that China would still be open to a limited trade deal if President Donald Trump were to back down from the scheduled tariff escalations he's announced in recent months. • Trump would be unlikely to accept a long-term deal without Chinese concessions on structural issues, a White House official told Business Insider.  China appeared to ease its tone toward the US ahead of high-stakes trade talks set for the end of the week, even though officials and analysts said the prospect of a breakthrough between the two sides had dimmed in recent days.  Citing an official with direct knowledge of the talks, Bloomberg reported early Wednesday that China would still be open to a limited trade deal if President Donald Trump were to back down from the scheduled tariff escalations he's announced in recent months. That would include non-core commitments such as resumed agricultural purchases, which China halted last year to retaliate against the Trump administration.  The Chinese Embassy did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.  Trump would be unlikely to accept a long-term deal of that sort without Chinese concessions on structural issues, a White House official, who requested anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations, told Business Insider. Those include intellectual-property theft and large-scale state subsidies that officials have found put the US at a disadvantage.  With a rapidly evolving impeachment inquiry that was opened last month, the president could face increasing pressure to at least temporarily hold off on tariff escalations this month. The Trump administration is set to raise the tariff rate on Chinese products to as high as 30% next Tuesday.  "The impeachment threat increases Trump's incentives to agree a deal with mainland China, but the process can also heighten China's incentives in extending the process longer as Trump's approval rating slips," analysts at JPMorgan wrote in a recent research note.  Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are set to meet with a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He in Washington on Thursday and Friday. But a series of likely hurdles have piled up ahead of those meetings, the first on US soil since 13 rounds of negotiations collapsed in May.  On Monday evening, the US added 28 technology companies in China to an export blacklist over alleged human-rights abuses in the Xinjiang region. Each country has separately taken steps to tighten visa restrictions on the other this week.  White House officials have also continued to discuss a policy that would limit investment flows into China, according to a source familiar with the matter. Bloomberg first reported the plan, which was disputed by the Trump administration but has been confirmed by several news outlets, including Business Insider.  "The Trump administration appears to not be looking for leverage to make China 'cry uncle,' but instead, methodically reduce interdependence between the two countries in trade, finance, technology, and education," said Scott Kennedy, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who studies China. "And with its own nationalistic behavior, China is acceding to if not accelerating this divorce."  Now read: Ray Dalio warns the White House's latest plan to clamp down on Chinese investment could soon become a reality. Here's why he thinks 'all market participants need to worry.'


businessinsider--2019-10-11--Trump plays up odds of China trade deal as high-stakes meetings resume

• President Donald Trump expressed optimism around high-level trade talks with China on Friday. • Trump is scheduled to meet with China's top trade negotiator at 2:45 p.m. ET in the Oval Office. • Financial markets jumped on hope for a deal, with all three major US stock indexes up more than 1%.  President Donald Trump expressed optimism toward high-level trade negotiations with China on Friday, saying that he would like to see progress made in a dispute that has threatened growth in the largest economies.  "Good things are happening at China Trade Talk Meeting," the president wrote on Twitter. "Warmer feelings than in recent past, more like the Old Days. I will be meeting with the Vice Premier today. All would like to see something significant happen!"  The tweet came just as a delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He entered a second day of negotiations with Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in Washington.  Financial markets jumped on hope for a deal, with all three major US stock indexes up more than 1%. Trump is scheduled to meet with Liu at 2:45 p.m. ET in the Oval Office.  "One of the great things about the China Deal is the fact that, for various reasons, we do not have to go through the very long and politically complex Congressional Approval Process," Trump continued on Friday. "When the deal is fully negotiated, I sign it myself on behalf of our Country. Fast and Clean!"  Top negotiators from the two sides had not met on US soil since nearly a dozen rounds collapsed in May. On Thursday, Trump sought to sow uncertainty around whether any agreement would be reached.  "They want to make a deal, but do I?" he said.  Tariffs on thousands of Chinese products are set to increase to as high as 30% on Tuesday. In December, the Trump administration plans to expand import taxes to virtually every shipment from China.  Read more: The White House eyes new economic penalties against China as trade talks kick off  Now read: Nobel laureate Robert Shiller forewarned investors about the dot-com and housing bubbles. Now he tells us which irrational market behaviors have him most worried.


businessinsider--2019-10-14--China is reportedly not ready to sign a partial trade deal with the US

• Chinese officials would like to hold further talks with the US before the preliminary agreement the Trump administration touted on Friday is finalized, according to Bloomberg. • Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin confirmed early Monday that there were still several meetings the two sides planned to take before a pact might be made official. • With details on core trade issues still elusive, officials said they did not expect to have the text of the agreement ready for several weeks.  Chinese officials would reportedly like to hold further trade talks with the US before the preliminary agreement the Trump administration touted on Friday is finalized.  Bloomberg reported Monday that China could send a trade delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He to hammer out details of what President Donald Trump has called a "substantial phase one" deal, which sought to ease trade tensions between the two sides. The White House did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.  The Trump administration said last week that China agreed to increase agricultural purchases, make unspecified adjustments to its intellectual property rules, and open its financial services market. That was in return for the postponement of tariff hikes on Chinese products that had been scheduled to take effect this week.  But with details on core trade issues still elusive, officials said they did not expect to have the text of the agreement ready for several weeks.  Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin confirmed on CNBC early Monday that there were still several meetings the two sides planned to take before a pact might be made official, potentially at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Chile in November.  "I expect we'll have a deal," Mnuchin said, adding that it was "subject to documentation." If an agreement was not reached by December 15, he said tariffs would be expanded to nearly all imports from China.  Over the weekend, Trump defended the agreement to critics who viewed it as weak and said it included concessions China had already offered in previous months. He attempted to placate farmers who have been hurt by retaliatory tariffs levied last year, which sent agricultural exports and prices sharply lower.  "My deal with China is that they will IMMEDIATELY start buying very large quantities of our Agricultural Product, not wait until the deal is signed over the next 3 or 4 weeks," the president wrote on Twitter. "THEY HAVE ALREADY STARTED! Likewise financial services and other deal aspects, start preparing...."  He added: "....I agreed not to increase Tariffs from 25% to 30% on October 15th. They will remain at 25%. The relationship with China is very good. We will finish out the large Phase One part of the deal, then head directly into Phase Two. The Phase One Deal can be finalized & signed soon!"  Read more: Nobel laureate Robert Shiller forewarned investors about the dot-com and housing bubbles. Now he tells us which irrational market behaviors have him most worried.


businessinsider--2019-11-02--Trump said the first part of mini China trade deal could be signed in Iowa this month

• President Donald Trump has played up the prospect that the US could soon defuse trade tensions with China in recent days. • The two sides could sign a so-called phase one agreement in Iowa this month, he said. • But administration officials emphasized that further negotiations would be needed to resolve key economic issues between the two sides.  President Donald Trump has said in recent days the US could soon defuse trade tensions with China, though administration officials emphasized that further negotiations would be needed to resolve key economic issues between the two sides.  Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn Friday evening, Trump said he and President Xi Jinping could sign a so-called phase one agreement as soon as this month. He added that meeting could take place in Iowa, a state Trump won in 2016 but that has suffered financial losses from retaliatory tariffs levied by the second-largest economy.  "China wants to make the deal very much," the president said. "I don't like to talk about deals until they happen, but we're making a lot of progress."  But China hawks in the Trump orbit have expressed a less optimistic tone toward negotiations, suggesting that the first stage of the agreement would not be comprehensive. In an interview with Fox Business Network on Friday, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said the agreement would need two more phases to address the "structural deadly sins of China."  The US halted planned tariff increases in mid-October, saying China had agreed to a series of trade and economic stipulations at the center of a Section 301 investigation that ignited the dispute in early 2018. Trump said those included unspecified commitments on technology rules, currency practices and market access for financial services companies.  Now read: US adds more jobs than expected in October despite GM strike, trade-war tensions  Businesses and analysts have remained cautious, however, particularly after China dodged confirmations of announced farm purchases. Just as the two sides were seen on the verge of a breakthrough in May, negotiations fell apart as the US said China had reneged on nearly all issues in a draft agreement.  "A shortfall in agricultural purchase commitments might well lead to a reescalation in the conflict further down the road," said Mark Haefele, the chief investment officer at UBS. "Longer-term trade issues on intellectual property and market access are likely to remain unresolved."


businessinsider--2019-11-06--First part of US-China trade deal could be delayed until December, report says

• The US and China could delay plans to finalize the first part of an agreement to defuse trade tensions until December. • Reuters reported Wednesday that an expected meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could be pushed back as the two sides continue to negotiate a venue and terms of a deal. • Dozens of venues for a meeting are said to be under consideration, including in Asia and Europe.Â  The US and China could delay plans to finalize the first part of an agreement to defuse trade tensions until December.  President Trump has said he planned to sign a so-called "phase one" agreement this month. But Reuters reported Wednesday that an expected meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could be put off until next month as the two sides continued to negotiate a venue and terms of a deal.Â  Trump recently suggested that he and Xi could sign the first part of the deal in Iowa, where officials have been in touch with the White House about such a proposal. But that has been ruled out, according to a senior administration official who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonimity. Dozens of other meeting venues in Asia and Europe are said to be under consideration.Â  In October, the White House announced that it would delay planned tariff escalations as part of an agreement that included a range of unspecified commitments from China. But the fate of those terms, which have not yet been put to paper, were uncertain after Chile canceled a pair of global summits where Trump and Xi were expected to meet this month.Â  White House spokesperson Hogan Gidley said just last week that the first stage was still expected to be signed "within the same time frame," despite the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit cancellation. The White House did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment on a potential delay.Â  Broader concerns have surfaced over whether a comprehensive trade deal could be reached anytime soon. Peter Navarro, a White House trade adviser, said this week that two more stages of an agreement would be needed to address structural issues in China.  Now read: These 12 highly shorted stocks have suffered brutal losses this year - but one Wall Street firm says a major threat just passed, and it might be time to buy


businessinsider--2019-11-20--The US and China may not sign a 'phase-one' trade deal until 2020

• The so-called phase-one trade agreement announced by the US and China last month might not be finalized until next year. • China indicated this month that it expected the US to lift punitive duties as part of a broader agreement. • But President Donald Trump could be reluctant to give in to those demands ahead of his reelection bid.  The US and China have appeared increasingly divided over a tariff rollback and other key trade terms, casting doubt on whether an interim agreement announced last month could be signed before the end of the year.  China indicated this month that it expected the US to lift punitive duties as part of a broader agreement on technology rules, farm purchases, and financial-sector access. But without concrete concessions on issues like intellectual property, President Donald Trump could be reluctant to give in to those demands ahead of his reelection bid.  "The Chinese know Trump doesn't want trade-war headwinds messing with his reelection bid, so I doubt they'll let up on tariff reductions," said Jared Bernstein, a top economic adviser in the Obama administration. "I'm just not sure Trump's willing to go there yet. If he does, a lot of people are going to be reasonably asking what was the point of the whole thing."  Reuters reported on Wednesday that a deal might not be finalized until next year, citing anonymous sources close to the Trump administration.  Asked whether the first part of an interim trade agreement with China was expected to be signed in 2019, a White House representative told Business Insider that "negotiations are continuing, and progress is being made on the text of the phase-one agreement."  But the largest economies have struggled to resolve the structural issues at the center of the impasse, which has led to punitive tariffs on thousands of products. The US is scheduled to expand those taxes to virtually all imports from China in December, a threat Trump has repeatedly doubled down in recent days.  "We'll see what happens, but I'm very happy right now," he said during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. "If we don't make a deal with China, I'll just raise the tariffs even higher."  Earlier this month, Trump denied China's claim that the US had agreed to lift some tariffs as part of a broader agreement. China has also not publicly confirmed agricultural commitments the Trump administration demanded.  Read more: GOLDMAN SACHS: Equity traders are expecting an economic acceleration — and these 12 stocks are best positioned to skyrocket as conditions improve


businessinsider--2019-12-13--Trump calls report on China trade deal 'completely wrong'

• President Donald Trump claimed on Friday that recent news reports on an interim trade agreement with China were false. • While Trump did not specify which story he was referring to, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that US negotiators had offered to lower tariffs on roughly $360 billion worth of Chinese products. • China announced early Friday that trade officials would soon hold a briefing.  President Donald Trump sowed confusion around trade negotiations early Friday, claiming that recent news reports on an interim trade agreement with China were not accurate.  "The Wall Street Journal story on the China Deal is completely wrong, especially their statement on Tariffs," the president wrote on Twitter. "Fake News. They should find a better leaker!"  While Trump did not specify which story he was referring to, The Journal reported on Thursday that US negotiators had offered to lower tariffs on roughly $360 billion worth of Chinese products.  The Journal did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House declined to elaborate. The Office of the US Trade Representative did not respond to several emails.  China is expected to hold a press briefing on trade at 10 a.m. ET. Officials initially scheduled the briefing for a half hour earlier but delayed it at the last minute.


businessinsider--2019-12-16--Here the full list of everything covered by Trump's phase-one trade deal with China

• President Donald Trump unveiled an interim trade agreement with China last week, marking a major de-escalation in trade tensions in the global economy. • The 86-page text of the agreement is expected to be signed in January following routine legal checks and a translation process. • Here's what is included so far in the so-called phase-one deal, which has not yet been made public. President Donald Trump unveiled an interim trade agreement with China last week, marking a major de-escalation in trade tensions in the global economy. The 86-page text of the agreement is expected to be signed in January following routine legal checks and a translation process. But it did not resolve all of the issues in a more than yearlong trade dispute between the two sides. "Anyone who thinks you're going to take their system and our system that have- that have worked in a very unbalanced way for the United States and in- in one stroke of the pen change all of that is foolish," US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Sunday on CBS. "The president is not foolish. He's very smart. The question was, how big was the first phase going to be?" Here's what is included so far in the so-called phase-one deal, which has not yet been made public.  As part of the phase-one agreement, US negotiators agreed to lowered tariffs on $120 billion worth of Chinese products to 7.5% from 15%. A 25% tariff remains on roughly $250 billion worth of imports. The US also canceled plans to target all additional imports including electronics and toys. China suspended a pledge to retaliate in-kind.  The Trump administration said China agreed to buy more from the US agricultural, manufacturing, energy and services sectors. That would lead to $200 billion worth of additional American exports within the next two years, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative. A farm purchase quota touted by administration officials has not been confirmed by China yet. Economists and industry groups have questioned the $50 billion figure, which would be more than double the $24 billion in agricultural products that China bought in 2017.  The trade agreement includes a mechanism to enforce its rules, which would include regular bilateral consultations and the possibility of tariff snapbacks. Concessions could be suspended if either side decides the other has violated a provision of the agreement, according to a senior administration official. "We can take action," the official said. "It could be potentially in the form of tariffs, but we have the ability to take that action if they are not."  The USTR said the trade agreement would also ease pressure on foreign companies to hand over technology in order to access the Chinese market. But that pledge was seen as the result of new foreign investment legislation, which has been criticized for potential loopholes. "It's not clear how much we moved the Chinese on tech transfer, as the new Foreign Investment Law already made it illegal to force transfer," said Mary Lovely, a trade scholar at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. "Overall, I view this as a ceasefire with significant purchases attached."  The trade agreement includes chapters on some of the core issues the Trump administration cited in its Section 301 investigation, which ignited the trade dispute in early 2018. It calls on China to enhance intellectual property protections for companies who have long complained about infringement of copyrights and trade secrets.  Trump has long been frustrated over the relative exchange rate of the yuan and the dollar, arguing that weakness put US companies at a disadvantage and offset the effects of punitive tariffs. Over the summer, the Treasury Department labeled China a currency manipulator for the first time in decades. The USTR said the trade agreement addressed that issue through "high-standard commitments to refrain from competitive devaluations and targeting of exchange rates, while promoting transparency and providing mechanisms for accountability and enforcement."


cbsnews--2019-04-04--Trump says China trade deal has very good chance of happening

Trump says China trade deal has "very good chance of happening"

President Trump said he thinks there's a "very good chance" of reaching a trade deal with China, the latest sign that the months-long dispute could be coming to a close. Mr. Trump also announced he would participate in a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping to finalize the details of an agreement in about four weeks, but only if the framework of a deal is in place.  "This is the granddaddy of them all. And we'll see what happens. I think it has a very good chance of happening," Mr. Trump said at the White House Thursday before a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and other negotiators. "If we have a deal, there will be a summit. I think we'll know over the next four weeks."  The U.S. and China have been in an escalating tariff war for months, with Mr. Trump accusing China of unfair trade practices and intellectual property theft.  Mr. Trump told reporters the "hardest issues" had been resolved but the two countries still have to hash out intellectual property theft issues and certain tariffs.  "Some of the toughest things have been agreed to," Mr. Trump said. "It's a very — I'm using a word I don't like using too often — it's a very comprehensive deal."  He also called the Chinese government "tough negotiators" but "great friends." Although he did not announce the specific date for a summit with Xi, he said the coming deal would be "an epic deal, historic — if it happens."  Mr. Trump tweeted Thursday morning that talks with China "are moving along nicely." Speaking at the White House earlier Thursday, the president said the two countries are nearing a deal.  "They very much want to make a deal. We'll see what happens," Mr Trump said. "It's got to be a great deal. We've been losing for many years, four, five, $600 billion a year, we're losing. It's got to be a great deal."  Liu, who is China's top trade negotiator, met with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Wednesday.  Mr. Trump's meeting with Liu came hours after he threatened to impose tariffs on cars coming into the U.S. from Mexico. In order to avoid the tariffs, Mr. Trump says Mexico must do more to prevent illegal immigration into the U.S. and if it does not crack down on drugs crossing the border. He said he would give Mexico a year to prevent immigrants from entering the U.S. before following through on the auto taxes.  "If Mexico doesn't help, that's okay. We'll tariff their cars," he said. At another point, he said, "If the drugs don't stop, we'll tariff the cars. If that doesn't work, we'll close the border."  "The whole ballgame is cars," he added.  Before meeting with Liu, Mr. Trump said, "We'll start with the tariffs and see what happens."


cbsnews--2019-12-03--Trump on trade deal with China: Maybe wait until "after the election"

President Trump indicated Tuesday a trade deal with China may not come until after the 2020 presidential election, saying that he has "no deadline" for striking an agreement with Beijing.  Speaking to reporters in London, where Mr. Trump is attending the annual NATO summit, the president said any trade deal with China would come on his terms.  "I think in some ways it's better to wait until after the election with China," the president said during a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.  Any deal between the world's two largest economies is "dependent on one thing: do I want to make it," Mr. Trump added.  The president reiterated that Beijing is eager to reach an agreement, but said the U.S. is "doing very well with China" and can do better.  Mr. Trump's comments come as the U.S. is set to impose another round of duties on Chinese imports Dec. 15. The latest tariffs will hit a wide range of consumer goods, including mobile phones and laptops.  The trade war with China has been ongoing for more than a year, with the two sides trading tariffs on thousands of products. An announcement from the president in October that the U.S. and Beijing reached a phase one deal, however, seemed to ease tensions between the two nations.  As part of the initial agreement, Mr. Trump said China agreed to buy between $40 billion and $50 billion in American farm products, though Chinese officials have said they would make purchases according to market needs.  Beijing, meanwhile, has been pushing for the U.S. to lift existing tariffs on products from China.  The Chinese Commerce Ministry said last week top Chinese and U.S. trade negotiators agreed to additional talks on a phase one deal, though it was not immediately confirmed by Washington.


cbsnews--2019-12-13--Trump says first phase of trade deal reached with China

President Trump claims the U.S. has agreed to a "Phase One Deal" with China on trade, which the president says will lead to structural changes and agricultural product purchases, among other things. The president also announced tariffs on $160 billion in Chinese imports won't go into effect on December 15.  The Trump administration had already claimed they reached a "phase one" deal with China in October, but the countries have now agreed on the text of such a deal. The president's announcement came minutes after the House Judiciary Committee approved articles of impeachment, sending those articles to the House for a floor vote.  Mr. Trump also said negotiations will begin for a "Phase Two Deal immediately," instead of after the 2020 presidential election. The Chinese are also holding a press conference to announce some sort of agreement.  "We have agreed to a very large Phase One Deal with China," the president tweeted Friday morning, the president tweeted. "They have agreed to many structural changes and massive purchases of Agricultural Product, Energy, and Manufactured Goods, plus much more. The 25% Tariffs will remain as is, with 7 1/2% put on much of the remainder....The Penalty Tariffs set for December 15th will not be charged because of the fact that we made the deal. We will begin negotiations on the Phase Two Deal immediately, rather than waiting until after the 2020 Election. This is an amazing deal for all. Thank you!"  The president's top economic adviser Larry Kudlow, however, said on CNBS he didn't want to put a timeline on a second phase of an agreement. Kudlow told reporters on a conference call that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and a Chinese representative will sign the first phase of the deal "in a few weeks."  The U.S. Trade Representative emphasized that they believe the agreement is enforceable, establishing a dispute resolution system.  "President Trump has focused on concluding a Phase One agreement that achieves meaningful, fully-enforceable structural changes and begins rebalancing the U.S.-China trade relationship. This unprecedented agreement accomplishes those very significant goals and would not have been possible without the President's strong leadership," Lighthizer said in a statement.  The U.S. will continue to maintain 25% tariffs on roughly $250 billion of Chinese imports, along with 7.5% tariffs on roughly $120 billion in Chinese imports, USTR said.  Interested parties outside the administration pointed to the timing of the announcement.  "We may never know if the decision by Democrats to impeach the President is what finally made him see religion on trade policy, which up until now was killing his election chances," Chris Zaccarelli, chief Investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance, said in a note to investors after the president's announcement of a China deal. "And if he is reelected next year, we may look back to today's phase one agreement with China and point to today as the reason the economy and business confidence regained their footing and laid the groundwork for his reelection."  On Thursday, the president teased the U.S. was "very close" to a trade deal with China, although he's been using similar language for a long time.  "Getting VERY close to a BIG DEAL with China. They want it, and so do we!" the president tweeted Thursday morning.  Shortly after Mr. Trump made the announcement on Twitter Friday morning, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham wrote, "Take note @SpeakerPelosi -- this is what real leadership looks like. President @realDonaldTrump never stops working and continues to make successful deals that benefit this country."  This is a developing story and will be updated.


channel4uk--2019-08-13--Interim USUK trade deal could take effect day after Brexit

Interim US/UK trade deal could take effect ‘day after Brexit’

US national security advisor John Bolton is in London, where he’s had meetings to discuss an interim trade deal between the US and the UK – that could take effect on the 1st of November.  US national security advisor John Bolton is in London, where he’s had meetings to discuss an interim trade deal between the US and the UK – that could take effect on the 1st of November.  There was also talk of a declaration to be signed at the G7 by President Trump and the Prime Minister.  Meeting with International Trade Secretary Liz Truss Mr Bolton outlined the US commitment to support Britain through the Brexit process


cnbc--2019-03-20--Trump says China tariffs could remain for a substantial period of time as trade deal develops

Trump says China tariffs could remain for a 'substantial period of time' as trade deal develops

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his administration's tariffs on Chinese imports could stay in place indefinitely until Beijing complies with a still-developing trade deal — which the president said "is coming along nicely."  "We're not talking about removing [tariffs], we're talking about leaving them for a substantial period of time, because we have to make sure that if we do the deal with China that China lives by the deal," Trump told reporters on the White House lawn as he left to visit an Ohio manufacturing plant.  The president's comments come amid conflicting reports about how close the world's two largest economies are to reaching a deal and just what China is willing to concede in talks. Negotiations will restart next week when U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin travel to Beijing.  Trump stressed that "we're getting along with China very well" as the countries try to strike a deal and ease trade tensions that threaten sustained damage to U.S. businesses.  "President Xi [Jinping] is a friend of mine," Trump said. "The deal is coming along nicely. We have our top representatives going there this weekend to further the deal."  Major U.S. stock indexes initially dipped following Trump's remarks Wednesday. If Trump keeps duties on Chinese goods for an extended period of time, it could not only pass higher costs on to American businesses and consumers but also hurt exporters vulnerable to China's retaliatory tariffs.  The president has used the duties as a negotiating tool to push China toward a trade agreement. The Trump administration has so far put tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports. China has slapped duties on $110 billion in U.S. products.  Trump has held off on increasing tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods to 25 percent from 10 percent as he seeks a deal.  On Tuesday, Bloomberg News reported that China had backed off certain concessions as it sought assurances that the U.S. would remove tariffs. However, The Wall Street Journal later reported that trade talks are in their final stages.  Trump's comments Wednesday reflect the muddled messaging that has come from the administration throughout the negotiations.


cnbc--2019-04-04--Trump says well know over the next four weeks if a China trade deal happens

Trump says 'we'll know over the next four weeks' if a China trade deal happens

"If we have a deal, there will be a summit. I'd say we'll know over the next four weeks," the president said.  The two sides were going line by line through deal text Thursday, with a break for a meeting between Trump and Liu, an administration official told CNBC. They will continue to work through the deal on Friday.  The world's two largest economies still disagree over whether the U.S. will use tariffs as an enforcement tool, the official acknowledged. Trump has previously said his administration's tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods could stay in place even after the sides strike a deal. China has pushed for the removal of duties as part of an agreement.  The U.S. and China had not set a date or place for a summit between Trump and Xi as of Thursday.  The talks come as investors and businesses watch closely for developments that could ease tensions between the U.S. and its largest trading partner. The escalating series of tariffs imposed by both China and the U.S. has rattled financial markets and led to concerns about issues rippling throughout both economies.  Trump, who won the White House partly on his pledges to crack down on what he called Chinese trade abuses, seeks a victory that he can promote during his 2020 reelection bid.  "If it's not a great deal, we're not doing it," he told reporters at the White House earlier Thursday. "But it's going very well."  The two sides are eyeing a series of agreements on different subjects tied together by one enforcement tool, the administration official said. The U.S. and China have not decided how much of the agreement to finish now and how much to leave for the potential meeting between Trump and Xi.  The U.S. would give China until 2025 to follow through on commitments to purchase more goods from the U.S., the person added. But different products would be subject to separate timelines. Trump has long decried the trade deficit between the U.S. and China and pushed for Beijing to buy more American goods.  Negotiators have not set a time frame for addressing structural issues, such as stopping intellectual property theft or forced technology transfers.  WATCH: Why investors are banking on trade war deal


cnbc--2019-05-01--A US-China trade deal is possible by next Friday sources say

A US-China trade deal is 'possible' by next Friday, sources say

The announcement of a U.S. trade deal with China is "possible" by next Friday, sources told CNBC on Wednesday.  A U.S. delegation met with Chinese negotiators in Beijing on Wednesday as the world's two largest economies try to hammer out details of an agreement. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will travel to Washington for talks next week.  Washington and Beijing have pushed to resolve a trade dispute that led to a series of tariffs and raised fears about spiraling economic damage. While both sides have repeatedly touted progress in the talks, disputes such as whether to immediately remove existing tariffs or keep them in place as an enforcement measure to stop practices such as intellectual property theft have derailed a final deal. President Donald Trump also wants China to buy more U.S. goods to reduce the trade deficit between the countries.  On Wednesday, the White House said the latest talks moved Washington and Beijing closer to an agreement. In a statement, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, "Discussions remain focused toward making substantial progress on important structural issues and rebalancing the US-China trade relationship."


cnbc--2019-05-07--USMCA trade deal could cost Georgia produce growers nearly 900 million report says

USMCA trade deal could cost Georgia produce growers nearly $900 million, report says

But he recently defended the Trump administration deal.  "Not only does USMCA expand market access for commodities and crops, but also the agreement specifically addresses agricultural biotechnology, including new technologies such as gene editing, to support innovation and reduce trade-distorting policies," Perdue wrote in a guest column this week in the Gazette paper in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Added Perdue, "USMCA ensures a level playing field for American agriculture. If we are to keep our economy booming and continue to feed and clothe the world, Congress must pass USMCA."  Some agricultural producers want changes to the deal first. They claim Mexico is "dumping" seasonal produce on the U.S. market with the help of government subsidies. Last month, a group of U.S. lawmakers from Florida and Georgia wrote a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer expressing concern about the lack of trade protections for seasonal and perishable produce in the proposed USMCA.  Florida tomato growers and a group of U.S. lawmakers have previously accused Mexico of unfair trade practices. Southeast growers argued that an anti-dumping clause in a new trade deal would give U.S. farmers more leverage to hold Mexico accountable for not playing by the rules.  But producer groups in California and other U.S. Western states cautioned against including anti-dumping provisions in a NAFTA replacement. They warned it could be used by Canada or Mexico to make a "dumping" case against U.S.-grown seasonal crops such as apples.  The U.S. Trade Representative's Office referred inquiries to the Commerce Department, which didn't respond to a request for comment.  The UGA study also criticized Mexico's government subsidies to its agriculture industry and added that Mexico's labor costs can be about one-tenth of U.S. labor costs. The report claimed, "the costs of the Mexican imports is often less than one half the price American growers were receiving before the Mexican imports arrived."  The UGA report said there's potential for "catastrophic damage" when it comes to tomatoes.  In February, the Trump administration indicated it planned to reopen an anti-dumping investigation into Mexican tomatoes and exit a 2013 agreement that has been criticized by U.S. growers. The 2013 agreement was described on a Commerce website as a commitment by Mexican producers and exporters to sell tomatoes "at or above the reference price, which will eliminate completely the injurious effects of exports of fresh tomatoes to the United States."  On Tuesday, Reuters reported the U.S. plans to impose a 17.5% tariff on Mexican tomatoes this week, coming after the two countries failed to renew the 2013 agreement. It cited Mexican officials as the source for report.  "As of tomorrow, a tariff of 17.5% will be applied on the value of the product ... Mexican exporters will be affected, it's going to affect their financial flows but that is going to be directly transferred to U.S. consumers," Mexican Deputy Economy Minister Luz Maria de la Mora was quoted as saying.  She added, "We're very disappointed but the good news is that negotiations continue, looking for a solution. And we hope that in the coming weeks we can, in fact, reach an agreement."


cnbc--2019-05-08--Pelosi doubts Trump will strike a trade deal with China this week as tariff hike looms

Nancy Pelosi doubts the Trump administration can strike a trade deal with China this week as a tariff increase looms on Friday.  "No," the House speaker said at a Washington Post Live event Wednesday when asked if she is confident an agreement will happen. "Let me just say that first of all, I never believed that the Chinese were going to honor what they said they were going to do. ... In any trade agreement if you don't have enforcement, all you're having is a conversation, a cup of tea."  The U.S. plans to escalate its trade conflict with Beijing on Friday, when it expects to increase duties on $200 billion in Chinese goods to 25% from 10%. The move comes as the American side cites a lack of progress toward a final agreement to address trade concerns and accuses China of backing out of previous commitments.  The Trump administration hopes it can still make progress when a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He heads to Washington for talks on Thursday and Friday. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump tweeted that Chinese negotiators "are now coming to the U.S. to make a deal." But the president added that he is "very happy" with the revenue raised by tariffs, which he called "great" for the U.S. but "not good for China!"  But U.S. consumers largely bear the costs of duties, not China.  Top Democrats have largely backed Trump's efforts to crack down on what officials call Chinese trade abuses, such as intellectual property theft and forced technology transfers. But Washington and Beijing have disagreed over how best to enforce those provisions: Trump wants to at least temporarily leave tariffs in place to force China to uphold its end of an agreement.  The president and Democrats have differed on how best to encourage China to strike a deal to change its practices.  On Wednesday, Pelosi said, "The president is correct in asserting what we have to do with China." However, she said his methods are "empowering them to hurt our people."  The tariffs Trump has put so far on $250 billion in Chinese goods sparked retaliatory duties that helped to send crop prices diving and damaged U.S. farmers. Pelosi contended that, rather than putting tariffs on allies such as the European Union and angering them, Trump should have spared them to increase the leverage the countries could have collectively had over China.  Trump has more enthusiastic support from the top Senate Democrat. After Trump first announced the tariff increase on Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., urged him to "hang tough on China."  The Trump administration has said it would consider delaying Friday's planned tariff increase if talks with Beijing make progress.  But even some Democrats who backed Trump's initial efforts to overhaul trade deals and boost U.S. manufacturing workers have soured on his negotiating tactics with China. Some Democratic lawmakers who supported the president's tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from China have criticized the widening trade conflict.  "President Trump's inability to close a deal with China is hurting our economy," Rep. Tim Ryan, an Ohio Democrat and 2020 presidential candidate, said in a statement. "Businesses need certainty—not a trade war. Our country needs President Trump to finally develop a whole-of-government strategy that holds China accountable and benefits American workers and businesses."  Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Sen. Sherrod Brown — another skeptic of U.S. trade agreements — said the Ohio Democrat "supports a strong final agreement that leads to long-term structural changes to curb China's cheating." The spokeswoman, Jennifer Donohue, did not immediately answer whether the senator thinks tariffs are the best method of getting to a final agreement.


cnbc--2019-08-05--US and China will not likely reach a trade deal this year says former ambassador

US and China will not likely reach a trade deal this year, says former ambassador

The latest escalation in tensions between the U.S. and China has reduced the chances that both sides could reach a trade deal this year, a former American diplomat said on Monday.  Negotiations between Washington and Beijing appeared to be progressing well until U.S. President Donald Trump shocked markets in May by hiking tariffs from 10% to 25% on $200 billion of Chinese goods. Talks subsequently broke down and had resumed last week before Trump again threatened to slap 10% tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese goods starting Sept. 1.  Trump's latest actions are "a step away from a solution," said Frank Lavin, U.S. ambassador to Singapore from 2001 to 2005. He added that it's "unlikely" both sides would reach a deal by the end of this year.  "This tariffs war has gone on for over a year, so you see a deterioration in environment, a deterioration in trust and communication," Lavin, who's now chief executive at business consultancy Export Now, told CNBC's "Street Signs."  Export Now is a company founded by Lavin to help consumer brands expand in China


cnbc--2019-08-20--Something like Tiananmen Square in Hong Kong would make a trade deal more difficult Pompeo says

'Something like Tiananmen Square' in Hong Kong would make a trade deal 'more difficult,' Pompeo says

A trade deal between the U.S. and China would be less likely if President Xi Jinping's government cracks down violently on the large-scale protests in Hong Kong, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told CNBC on Tuesday.  It would be "more difficult" to reach a trade deal if the protests end "in a way that there was violence — the president said something like Tiananmen Square," Pompeo said in an interview on "Squawk Box. "  He was referring to the 1989 student-led demonstrations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, which ended in mass bloodshed after government-deployed soldiers and tanks and fired on those protesters.  "I hope that the trade negotiations move forward, and I hope that Hong Kong is resolved in a peaceful way. Those would be the best outcomes for both China and the United States," Pompeo said.  Hong Kong has for weeks been roiled by massive protests that have resulted in tense clashes with police.  The protests stemmed from opposition to an extradition bill that critics say would have given Beijing undue control over Hong Kong. But after the bill was suspended, the scope of the protest movement expanded to encompass issues of civil rights and democracy. When Britain handed over Hong Kong to China in 1997, Beijing promised that Hong Kong's economic and political systems would not be changed for 50 years.  Over the weekend, President Donald Trump said that a trade deal "would be very hard" to do "if they do violence. If it's another Tiananmen Square … I think it's a very hard thing to do if there's violence."  Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike have come out in support of the protesters. But the movement against Chinese interference complicates the political landscape for Trump, who has sought a trade deal with Beijing that addresses issues such as trade deficits, the alleged theft of intellectual property and forced technology transfers.  Even without factoring in Hong Kong's impact on negotiations, the trade war between the two economic superpowers has shown little sign of slowing down. The U.S. has imposed 25% tariffs on about $250 billion worth of Chinese imports, while Beijing has responded with its own tariffs on $110 billion in U.S. goods.  Despite the White House's decision last week to delay some new tariffs on Chinese goods to spare American holiday shoppers, billions in that country's imports will be taxed on Sept. 1. The rest of that round of tariffs, which will cover roughly the remaining $300 billion in goods bought from China, are slated to go into effect Dec. 15.  China had initially responded to the prospect of new tariffs by announcing that it would no longer buy U.S. agricultural products. The U.S. then labeled China a currency manipulator.


cnbc--2019-09-12--Trump says he would consider an interim trade deal with China

President Donald Trump signaled Thursday that he would consider an interim trade deal with China, even though he would not prefer it.  The president told reporters he would like to ink a full agreement with the world's second largest economy. However, he left the door open to striking a limited deal with Beijing.  "If we're going to do the deal, let's get it done," he told reporters as he left for a congressional Republican retreat in Baltimore. "A lot of people are talking about it, I see a lot of analysts are saying an interim deal — meaning we'll do pieces of it, the easy ones first. But there's no easy or hard. There's a deal or there's not a deal. But it's something we would consider, I guess."  Trump's statements add to confusion sparked earlier in the day about what the White House would accept in its ongoing negotiations with China. U.S. stock indexes initially climbed on a report that the Trump administration talked about crafting an interim agreement. A White House official then said the U.S. is "absolutely not" considering such a deal, causing markets to give up some of those gains.  Asked to clarify if Trump's position had changed from earlier in the day, White House spokesman Judd Deere emphasized the president's comment that he would prefer a complete agreement.


cnbc--2019-10-06--China is reportedly reluctant to agree to a broad US trade deal with talks set to restart

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cnbc--2019-11-06--Trump-Xi meeting to sign trade deal could be delayed as US and China wrangle over terms and venue

A meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to sign an interim trade deal could be delayed until December as the two parties look to agree on the terms and a new venue.  A senior administration official told CNBC that the White House's goal is still to reach an agreement with Beijing by Nov. 16 – when the now-canceled APEC summit in Chile would have taken place – but it's not clear that timeline can be delivered.  "The first order of business is to complete the negotiations," this official said, noting that the potential venue was just one element of the discussions. The official cast doubt on a signing summit in Sweden or Switzerland, which Reuters reported as under consideration, but did not rule it out entirely.  Trump has suggested Switzerland as a possible meeting location for the deal signing since February, saying, "there's nowhere more neutral than that," according to an official paraphrasing Trump's views.  A potential summit in Europe would be relatively neutral territory for the two leaders, both of whom are conscious of the political optics of signing a deal on the other's home turf. Trump is scheduled to be in London for a gathering of NATO leaders on Dec. 3-4, and people close to the talks say a potential signing could happen nearby before or after that visit.  "Negotiations are continuing and progress is being made on the text of the phase-one agreement," said White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere.  Last month, the Trump and Xi administrations started working to finalize a "phase one" trade agreement that included a pause in tariff escalation and China buying U.S. agriculture products. The deal was expected to be signed during an APEC summit in Chile this month, but violent protests in Santiago over unrelated issues led to the cancellation of the event.  The United States and China have been at odds ever since over a possible U.S. location for the meeting. The U.S. suggested hosting the meeting in Iowa to feature the agricultural benefits of the potential deal in a critical swing state. But the Chinese suggested Hawaii or Alaska – with a preference for Alaska, in part to revive a partnership over liquefied natural gas, according to two people close to the talks.  At earlier stages of discussions, Xi suggested the two leaders meet in Asia after Trump's February summit in Vietnam. Months later, the two countries were discussing a signing summit at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Beijing has suggested that a full-fledged state visit in Washington would be required for Xi to visit the country.


cnbc--2019-12-04--Agriculture secretary says Trump wants a US-China trade deal that's 'enforceable' and 'reliable'

President Donald Trump only wants a "phase one" trade deal with China that works for the United States, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told CNBC on Wednesday.  "Trump wants to conclude a deal that can be enforceable, that can be reliable and be consistent with what the deal says," said Perdue, who appeared on "Squawk Box" shortly after Bloomberg reported that the U.S. and China were edging closer to finalizing an agreement before new U.S. tariffs go into effect on Chinese goods on Dec. 15.  In comments from this week's NATO summit, Trump said Wednesday that China trade talks are going well — just one day after suggesting he may want to delay a China trade deal until after the 2020 presidential election.  Perdue said the trade war, which has seen escalating tariffs on both sides for more than 15 months, has actually been been going on for the past 20 years. "We just didn't recognize it until President Trump decided to reset the arrangement."  Beijing and Washington have placed retaliatory tariffs on billions of dollars of each other's goods, a move that's hit U.S. farmers. Nearly $20 billion in U.S. agricultural exports went to China last year.  "We in agriculture are optimistically hopeful we can conclude this," Perdue said, reiterating concerns from some Trump officials that China won't follow through on its promises.  Farmers were looking for some relief in the phase one deal, announced by Trump in October. Though not signed, Trump said the accord will include purchases of about $40 billion to $50 billion worth of farm products by China.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture in July also authorized up to $12 billion in aid to help farmers who have been harmed by the retaliatory tariffs. However, farmers are looking for a permanent deal rather than help from the White House.  "Every farmer in America would rather have trade than aid," Perdue said.


cnbc--2019-12-12--US reaches a phase one trade deal with China in principle pending Trump's approval

The Trump administration has reached a phase one trade deal with China in principle, pending approval from President Donald Trump, three sources close to talks told CNBC on Thursday. Trump met with top advisors on Thursday about trade with China and whether to delay the next round of U.S. tariffs. Duties of 15%, set to take effect Sunday, would affect about $160 billion in Chinese-made goods including toys, computers, phones and clothing. The White House has offered to scrap those duties and slash some existing tariffs in half, two sources told CNBC. The U.S. proposed cutting existing duties on $360 billion in Chinese products by 50%. Trump has focused on the U.S. agricultural products China will purchase as part of the deal, one of the sources told CNBC. China had committed to buying about $40 billion in goods, while the president wanted the figure closer to $50 billion.  The world's two largest economies have moved to rein in a trade war that threatens to drag on global growth. It is unclear exactly how the agreement between Washington and Beijing differs from a partial deal the president announced in October. Major U.S. stock indexes jumped following news of the deal in principle. Investors hope the U.S. and China can reach an accord before the tariff deadline and avoid a potentially damaging escalation in their nearly 2-year-old trade war. Bloomberg first reported that the U.S. and China reached a deal in principle Thursday. On Thursday morning, Trump signaled optimism about an agreement with China. He tweeted that the U.S. has moved close to a trade deal with Beijing after several false starts and near misses. "Getting VERY close to a BIG DEAL with China. They want it, and so do we!" the president wrote. Aside from his advisors, the president also huddled with major business figures on Thursday, CNBC has learned. Business Roundtable CEO Joshua Bolten, Cummins CEO Tom Linebarger, Stanley Black and Decker CEO James Loree and Union Pacific CEO Lance Fritz, among others, met with Trump. It is unclear if the meeting overlapped with the China trade discussions. The White House tariff offer to Beijing, first reported in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, came last week and may have changed. Recent talks have taken place mostly at the deputy level as U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer tries to push the administration's NAFTA replacement through Congress.  Trump's acknowledgement that the U.S. wants a deal marked a shift in tone from recent weeks. He has repeatedly contended that Beijing needs an agreement more than Washington does, and suggested he was content waiting until after the November 2020 election to strike a deal — a statement that disappointed investors. Trump in October announced a partial phase one agreement with China as the world's two largest economies try to de-escalate the economic conflict. Washington and Beijing had so far failed to sign the agreement. During months of trade talks with China, the president has previously touted progress before discussions crumbled. He has repeatedly said the negotiations are going well, even as trade officials struggled to reach a deal. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative did not immediately respond to a request to comment. Trump wants a broad trade agreement with China to address concerns about intellectual property theft, forced technology transfers and trade deficits. The president, who promised to crack down with China during his 2016 campaign, sees an agreement as an economic and political priority ahead of his 2020 reelection bid. Not all of Trump's advisors want to back off the planned duties. China hawk Peter Navarro, under the pseudonym "Ron Vara," wrote a memo supporting the White House's tariff strategy. In the document obtained by CNBC on Wednesday, he wrote that tariffs "are working to defend [the] economy and have had no negative impacts on growth or stock market rise."


cnbc--2019-12-30--Vice Premier Liu He to sign 'phase one' trade deal in Washington this week, Chinese media says

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (R) and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer (L) greet Chinese Vice Premier Liu He (C) as he arrives for trade talks at the Office of the US Trade Representative in Washington, DC, October 10, 2019. (  The newspaper, citing a source briefed on the matter, said Beijing has accepted the U.S. invitation for a deal signing in Washington, and the Chinese delegation will stay in the U.S. for a few days until the middle of next week. The South China Morning Post is run by Alibaba but is often criticized for being biased in favor of the state.  Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, that nation's top trade negotiator, will visit Washington this week to sign the "phase one" trade deal with the U.S., the South China Morning Post reported Monday.  The two countries have been working on translating and formalizing the partial agreement since earlier this month. The phase one trade deal includes some tariffs rollback and increased agricultural purchases from China.  White House trade advisor Peter Navarro told Fox News on Monday that the signing will likely happen within next week or so with both sides waiting for the translation.  President Donald Trump said last week that the deal is "getting done," adding that there will "ultimately" be a signing ceremony with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.  U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer previously said the two countries were aiming to sign the deal in the first week of January in Washington at the ministerial level and would not involve Trump and Xi.


cnn--2019-01-09--Trumps new trade deal still wont pay for his wall

Trump's new trade deal still won't pay for his wall

Now he's demanding that Congress come up with more than $5 billion to build a wall. He'll make a prime-time address Tuesday night, making his case to the public that a wall is needed to address what the administration views as a national security and humanitarian crisis along the Mexico-US border.  But even as the government remains shut down due to a fight over the money, the President continues to suggest that Mexico will ultimately pay for some of the wall through his revamped North American Free Trade Agreement, the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.  "Mexico is paying for the Wall through the new USMCA Trade Deal. Much of the Wall has already been fully renovated or built. We have done a lot of work. $5.6 Billion Dollars that House has approved is very little in comparison to the benefits of National Security. Quick payback!" Trump tweeted last week.  "It's extremely implausible," said Phil Levy, a senior fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs who served as a senior economist for trade under President George W. Bush. The USMCA could potentially create more economic activity, and in turn raise tax revenue. The Trump administration has said new rules on auto production would bring manufacturing jobs back to the US. But for now, it's unclear what kind of impact the deal will have on the American economy. It could potentially eliminate some jobs, too. The US International Trade Commission is investigating the economic impact of the deal, but it has until mid-March to publish its report. Even if the USMCA ends up raising tax revenue, there's nothing earmarking that money for a wall. Income and corporate taxes are general revenue that would have to be appropriated by Congress. Another way trade could bring money into the Treasury is through tariffs -- which are paid by American importers when they buy foreign goods. But like the original North American Free Trade Agreement, the new deal aims to keep trade between the three countries largely tariff-free. "There's not that much in the new deal that looks radical and new. You're already starting with free trade across the two borders," Levy said. Plus, the USMCA hasn't been ratified by Congress yet, and it's unclear whether it will get the votes. It's unlikely that the Democrats, who now control the House, will be eager to hand a victory to Trump, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she would like to see stronger enforcement measures for the labor and environment provisions in the deal.


cnn--2019-02-25--Trump declares signing summit for imminent trade deal with China

Trump declares 'signing summit' for imminent trade deal with China

It was yet another optimistic signal by the American President that a long-standing trade impasse that has resulted in a series of tit-for-tat tariffs may finally be nearing a close as negotiators inched closer to a 90-day deadline of March 1.  "I told you last night -- there was a lovely dinner -- but I told you how well we did with our trade talks in China and it looks like they'll be coming back quickly again, and we're going to have another summit, we're going to have a signing summit, which is even better, so hopefully we can get that completed, but we're getting very, very close," Trump told the nation's governors at the White House.  The US President also floated the prospect of a summit "to conclude an agreement" with China's Xi should progress continue.  He didn't specify how long the extension of a trade truce would be or when a summit might be scheduled. During a meeting with Chinese Vice Premiere Liu He on Friday in the Oval Office, suggested it would take place sometime in March at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The Trump administration had been planning to escalate tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods from 10% to 25% this weekend if they were unable to broker a deal. "China is paying us right now billions and billions of tariffs a month, I love it personally, I love it, but it's hurting them," Trump said and then recounted his fentanyl deal with Xi. Fentanyl is a substance that has been tied to an epidemic of overdose deaths in the United States, which has been a top priority issue for the Trump administration. Over the weekend, Chinese trade negotiators echoed Trump's remarks, saying the countries' teams had "achieved substantial progress on specific issues," according to a statement released to Xinhua, China's state news agency. The two countries have been making progress nailing down text in the form of Memoranda of Understanding in six areas: non-tariff barriers, forced technology transfers, intellectual property, cyber theft, agriculture and currency, according to public statements from both countries. Trump praised on Sunday evening at this year's Governors' Ball, his top trade negotiator Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for the progress achieved after negotiations last week in Washington were extended for two-and-half more days. His remarks followed a moment of tension between Trump and Lighthizer over the use of the term "memorandum of understanding" to signify a trade agreement between the United States and China. "I don't like MOUs because they don't mean anything ... I think you're better off just going into a document," Trump said on Friday to reporters. "I was never a fan of an MOU." Lighthizer appeared to steer Trump away from his understanding of the use of term, describing it as a "contract," a legal term that has been historically used to refer to trade agreements. But Trump still wasn't pleased, disagreeing with his US trade representative in front of reporters. "To me, the final contract is really the thing, Bob. And I think you mean that too -- is really the thing that means something." To which, Lighthizer acquiesced, saying he would use the term "trade agreement" instead. "I like that much better," Trump replied.


cnn--2019-12-16--US and Mexico say trade deal is on track after last-minute objections

The trade agreement is still headed for debate and a vote in the US House later this week. The Senate is expected to take it up in January after impeachment.  Mexico's Undersecretary for North America, Jesus Seade, rushed to Washington to meet with trade officials Monday, after writing to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to say he was "surprised" about the modifications to the USMCA, which has already been ratified in its original form by both Mexico and Canada.  But on Monday, Seade said he was "very satisfied" with the new terms.  At issue was a labor provision added in negotiations between Lighthizer and House Democrats that designates up to five inspectors from the United States Department of Labor to be stationed in Mexico working on implementing labor reform. Mexican officials said they were not consulted on this addition.  But Lighthizer clarified Monday that the five US workers would be providing technical assistance, disbursing capacity building funds, and providing assistance to a new US government interagency labor committee. "These personnel will not be 'labor inspectors' and will abide by all relevant Mexican laws," he wrote in a letter to Seade, which his office made public. At a press conference in Washington on Monday afternoon, Seade said he was pleased with the terms laid out in Lighthizer's letter regarding the five US workers. "Their business is cooperation, assistance, disbursement of funds and reporting to the big interagency committee," he said. Earlier in the day, top White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow was confident that Mexico's concerns would not hold up the deal. "Mr. Lighthizer is gonna work that out," Kudlow, director of the economic council, told reporters, adding, "I know it's not going to stop this successful passage of USMCA." The ratification of the trade agreement would be a huge victory for President Donald Trump as he heads into an election year. He made renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement a legislative priority and signed the deal, with his Canadian and Mexican counterparts, about a year ago -- but it still needs to be ratified by US Congress. The agreement keeps most trade between the three countries tariff-free, addresses digital trade, and strengthens labor and environmental enforcement provisions. It also nudges open the Canadian dairy market to US farmers and requires more of a car's parts to be made in North America in order to remain free from tariffs, but generally the two deals are more alike than they are different. The Trump administration finally reached a deal with House Democrats last week after months of negotiations for changes on Democratic priorities, including strengthening efforts to enforce labor rules. Speaking during the daily press conference in Mexico City on Monday morning, Mexico's Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said the country will not accept US attachés in their territory -- but did not suggest there was a threat to the deal passing. "Every country tries to advance their points," Ebard said adding, "we do not feel tricked because the deal was respected just as it was signed."