The U.S. – China trade war: what is going on in the EU and what we can do to help each other in the future?
“Are we going to rebalance the fundamental nature of the global economy in which China is a massive manufacturing hub and the US is a consumption economy? “No, I don’t think that is the case,” said a former Australian diplomat and trade negotiator named Dmitry Grozoubinski. “But is there things the two sides can do for one another that would make both sides happy, at least a little bit? Sure, there absolutely must be.”
The U.S. says it is now negotiating for China to purchase more American goods, a throwback to a trade deal the Trump administration negotiated with China during another trade war in 2020. The U.S. had said they would purchase $200 billion more in goods from China.
“Uncertainty remains, even though the Chamber is encouraged by the decision,” said Jens Eskelund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. “Businesses need predictability to maintain normal operations and make investment decisions.”
Chinese-U.S. Trade Negotiations After the Decay of the Wall Street Wall and Implications for the Future of the Trade War
Before the trade war was launched, Americans were already paying more than they used to. There is still a lot of uncertainty over how trade will work in three months because the tariffs are about to expire.
Both sides want trade to be more balanced, but neither wants a ‘decoupling’.
There was rapid progress between the two countries, which have now agreed to establish a consultation mechanism to address trade issues in the future.
American levies on Chinese goods will drop from at least 145% to a base levy of 30% for an initial period of 90 days, while Chinese levies are set to fall from at least 125% to 10% on American goods.
The talks were led on the Chinese side by Vice Premier He Lifeng and on the U.S. side by Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Bessent said at a press conference that they both had an interest in balanced trade. Greer also said there was a “positive path forward” on the two countries working to address fentanyl smuggling.
“If the deal is in the interest of China’s own, it will definitely be reached,” said Li Chenggang, a diplomat with China’s commerce ministry.
Vice Premier He described the atmosphere of the meeting as “candid, in-depth, and constructive” at a press conference following the meeting, saying it achieved “substantial progress and reached important consensus”.
On Monday, stocks traded strongly after the U.S. and China announced a break from tariffs, which have hurt trade between the two countries.
Los Angeles Port Manager Cynthia Ross, 28, is a Toy Dealer with China’s 145% Customs Duty. She’s Trying to Get Away Early for Christmas
Businesses that rely on imports paused deliveries to avoid paying a triple-digit tax. Cargo traffic at the Port of Los Angeles has fallen by more than a third from a year ago, raising the prospect of supply shortages in the future.
Ross had pulled two cargo containers off ships in China when the 145% tariffs took effect. She is trying to get as much merchandise as she can while the lower tariffs are in place.
After learning at 4:30 am of the deal that his company makes toys in China, Jay Foreman immediately called associates in Hong Kong to begin scheduling shipments.
“We’ve been holding everything at the factories and at the ports, because we didn’t want risk putting anything on containers with a 145% tariff,” Foreman says.
Some businesses may try to produce and ship their products early for Christmas to avoid the risk of higher tariffs in the fall. That’s risky because it’s possible that the administration will lower tariffs by the end of the three-month window.
“Right now, I’m just trying to get through the next four to six weeks,” he says. “Whether I double-shift the factories to try to get more produced and out the door before the end of the 90 days, I’ll probably need another three to four weeks to figure that out.”