Levies would extend to nearly all Chinese imports, potentially affecting American consumers

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned China against waiting out his first term to finalize any trade deal, saying if he wins re-election in the November 2020 U.S. presidential contest, the outcome will be worse for China.

U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods did not hurt Chinese global exports, which have been going strong with the EU and ASEAN. Further tariffs will only hurt the U.S. presence in China and the American economy, which relies on China trade.

With trade negotiations slated to begin in Shanghai next week, the U.S. and China teams appear to be adopting a tone of business- and market-friendliness. Businesses on both sides hope that the teams will leave derailing political chatter on the sidelines.

China’s bottom line remains that the U.S. must scrap all its existing and proposed tariffs. Not only would this measure signal good faith in the upcoming negotiations, but it would also rid the heated relations of their potential to devolve back into another all-out trade war.

Delegations may tackle smaller issues instead of sweeping deal.

Though Osaka provided a signal of some hope for future China-US negotiations, reality indicates that negotiators have several thorny issues to confront before reaching the light at the end of the tunnel: normalized trade relations.

Growing distrust between the United States and China has slowed the once steady flow of Chinese cash into America, with Chinese investment plummeting by nearly 90 percent since President Trump took office.

Some Chinese enterprises have inquired with U.S. exporters about the purchase of agricultural produce and applied for the lifting of tariffs on the products in accordance with the regulations of the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council, Chinese authorities said Sunday.

U.S. and Chinese trade officials held a “constructive” phone conversation on Tuesday, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said, marking a new round of talks after the world’s two largest economies agreed to a truce in a year-long trade war.