Reeling from the Hanoi summit and Michael Cohen testimony, President Trump is in need of a win. He might get one soon as US and Chinese negotiators narrow in on a trade deal. A final deal is expected soon, with some pointing to the possibility of a Trump-Xi summit at Mar-a-Lago at the end of March.
The US-China trade war has raged for a year, costing producers in both countries billions of dollars and pushing China toward an economic downturn.
Will it be worth it?
Here’s what we know about the tentative deal:
Background
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the deal would include a pledge from China to speed up the timetable for removing foreign-ownership limitations on car ventures and reduce tariffs on imported vehicles below the current 15%.
Tariffs would be rolled back on both sides of the Pacific upon the signing of the trade deal. The rollback could be partial in anticipation of more reforms in the future, or it could be a complete one bringing tariffs to pre-Trump levels. However, US negotiators are reserving the right to unilaterally re-impose tariffs in the event of future non-compliance from the Chinese side.
