‘Hard Deadline’ Looms March 1 for Trade Pact With China, Says White House

“High-ranking” U.S. and China officials made progress in two days of “intense and productive negotiations” that ended Thursday in Washington toward a comprehensive trade deal, but “much work remains to be done,” said the White House. President Donald Trump regards the 90-day negotiating window to which he and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed in Buenos Aires for reaching a trade agreement (see 1812030002) as “a hard deadline,” it said. The U.S. will raise to 25 percent the 10 percent Section 301 tariffs now in effect on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports unless the two sides “reach a satisfactory outcome” by March 1, it said.