China says US to remove tariffs ‘phase by phase’ as it cancels tax hikes on American goods

Beijing has said that the United States will roll back tariffs on Chinese goods “phase by phase,” and that the Chinese government will cancel its own impending tariffs on American goods, as a trade deal draws nearer.

Tariffs on US goods due to take effect on Sunday have been cancelled, China’s Vice Finance Minister Liao Min told a press conference on Friday. The two nations have also reached an agreement to crack down on counterfeit goods and intellectual property theft, Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen added. 

China would import more US wheat, corn, and other agricultural products under the new trade agreement, Vice Agricultural Minister Qu Dongyu said, reassuring media that these imports would not create “shocks” to Chinese agriculture.

While Trump declared negotiations for phase two of the trade deal will begin “immediately,” Chinese authorities cautioned that negotiations for the second stage will depend on how phase one is implemented. Both parties are still discussing when and where to sign the initial phase of the deal.

The tariff rollback was announced a day after Trump administration sources hinted that a phase one trade deal between the two countries had been reached in principle and Trump himself gushed that a “BIG DEAL” was waiting in the wings.

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