Six-Month Review of US-China Trade Deal Reportedly Postponed

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were not able to hold a videoconference with China Vice Premier Liu He on the progress of the U.S.-China trade deal over its first six months, Reuters reported. The six-month anniversary of the deal, Saturday, Aug. 15, was the intended date for the review. The USTR did not respond to a question on when a meeting would be rescheduled to talk about compliance. Reuters reported that a source said the U.S. wanted more time for China to increase its U.S. purchases agreed to in the deal, which entered into force Feb. 15, just before the COVID-19 pandemic began to disrupt commerce globally.

Also on Saturday, President Donald Trump said that China has been buying a lot of U.S. products “to keep me happy.” He said, “Last week, they purchased the two largest days in the history of corn purchase and a massive amount of soybeans. Also cattle.”