President Trump confirmed today that the U.S. and China have agreed on what they called “Phase One” of an international trade deal, thus suspending the tariffs aimed at $160 billion in Chinese imports set to take effect on Sunday.
The agreement also involved cutting the tariffs on all consumer products (including sports equipment and apparel) introduced in September from 15 percent to 7.5 percent.
China has agreed to purchase an “unspecified amount” of U.S. products and has agreed to currently undisclosed “structural” changes, per NPR.
…..The Penalty Tariffs set for December 15th will not be charged because of the fact that we made the deal. We will begin negotiations on the Phase Two Deal immediately, rather than waiting until after the 2020 Election. This is an amazing deal for all. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2019
Chinese officials confirmed the agreement in a press conference in Beijing, but neither party has officially signed the deal yet.
President Trump also said that the two countries would continue negotiations to finalize a second phase of the agreement.
