Trade negotiations with China continue as the U.S. and China seek to wrap up a phase one agreement, promised two weeks ago. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Fox Business News, “the ball is in China’s court,” in an interview Monday. He says the talks are making progress, but then described the negotiations as going “one step forward, one step backward.”
If nothing happens before December 15, President Donald Trump plans to move forward with another round of tariffs on China, as Ross called the date a “logical deadline.” But China wants the U.S. to roll back tariffs before they will agree to make the agreement.
Meanwhile, Ross again confirmed China promised $40-$50 billion of purchases of U.S. ag products as part of the agreement. China was a near $20 billion market for U.S. agriculture before the trade war began. However, that market has dropped roughly 50 percent since the trade war began, as retaliatory tariffs by China focused on U.S. agricultural products.
