Phase Two of China Deal Not Expected in 2020, Says Asia Society President

While the phase one deal is a welcome pause in trade war hostilities between China and the U.S., the president of the Asia Society Policy Institute said a conclusion to phase two -- which presumably would lift Section 301 tariffs -- won't come this year. The think tank's president, Kevin Rudd, who also is a former prime minister of Australia, said at a program Jan. 28, “I think the best way to look at the phase one deal is that it's a ceasefire. I wouldn't go beyond that, to be honest.” He added, “I don't think it's in either side's political interest to see phase two conclude or fail on this side of a presidential election.”

In response to a question from International Trade Today, he declined to speculate on whether a second Trump term would lead to the lifting of the tariffs, or whether a President Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders would reverse them. Rudd said that even though he is a center-left politician, he believes “free trade is good for everyone. I know that's out of fashion these days.”