Trade

Bloomberg writer Peggy Collins reported late last week that, “China’s leader Xi Jinping reassured U.S. President Donald Trump in a phone call that Beijing would meet purchase goals outlined in the recent trade deal between the countries — despite the impact of the coronavirus on the Asian nation, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Friday.”

Wall Street Journal writer Lingling Wei reported on Thursday that, “China said it would slash tariffs on $75 billion of U.S. imports in half as part of its efforts to implement a recently signed trade agreement with Washington.”

Bloomberg writer Ana Monteiro reported on Tuesday that, “The ‘export boom’ from the U.S.’s trade deal with China will be delayed because of the coronavirus outbreak, but the economic impact ‘is going to be minimal,’ White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said.”

Bloomberg writer Jonathan Stearns reported last week that, “Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue became the latest American official to face European Union complaints about U.S. threats to global trade rules and punitive tariffs on EU farm goods.”

Reuters writers Hallie Gu, Muyu Xu and Tony Munroe reported last week that, “China’s imports of U.S. soybeans surged in December from a year earlier, data showed on Friday, as China ramped up purchases during a thaw in the two country’s trade war.”

New York Times writers Ana Swanson and Emily Cochrane reported on Wednesday that, “President Trump signed the revised North American Free Trade Agreement into law on Wednesday, fulfilling a key campaign promise and bringing more than two years of tumultuous negotiations over the continent’s trade rules to a close.”

Trade issues continue to be an important executive branch focal point; today’s update takes a closer look at recent news items regarding agricultural trade with China, the European Union and India.

Bloomberg writers Mike Dorning and Michael Hirtzer reported last week that, “President Donald Trump’s phase-one trade deal with China offers the promise of more overseas sales for American farmers, but the impact of the agreement remains unclear.”

Wall Street Journal writer William Mauldin reported on Thursday that, “The U.S. Senate easily passed an overhaul of North America’s trade rules on Thursday, sending a major Trump administration priority to the president’s desk.”

Financial Times writer James Politi reported on Wednesday that, “The US and China have signed an agreement to pause the trade war that has weighed on the global economy for nearly two years, while leaving in place tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese imports.”

Lingling Wei reported in Friday’s Wall Street Journal that, “Chinese President Xi Jinping’s chief trade negotiator will travel to Washington early next week to sign a phase-one trade deal with the U.S., China’s Commerce Ministry said Thursday, the first official confirmation by Beijing on the signing of an agreement that could help ease bilateral tensions.”

William Mauldin reported in Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal that, “A Senate committee approved a replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement, despite criticism from some lawmakers that it lacks sufficient protections for U.S. companies.”

Wall Street Journal writers Bob Davis, Andrew Restuccia and Lingling Wei reported on Tuesday that, “President Trump said he would sign the recently negotiated phase-one trade deal with China in Washington on Jan. 15—marking a formal truce in the U.S-China trade war—and would later travel to Beijing to negotiate a broader pact.”

Reuters writers Hallie Gu and Tom Daly reported late last week that, “China will make good on a pledge to purchase more than $40 billion per year of U.S. agricultural products under the recently agreed Phase 1 trade deal between the two countries, China’s top agriculture consultancy said on Friday.”

Don Lee and Alice Su reported in Saturday’s Los Angeles Times that, “The United States and China reached a preliminary trade agreement that includes the rollback of some tariffs on Chinese imports and a commitment by Beijing to make a substantial increase in purchases of American farm goods and other products and services.”

Lingling Wei, Bob Davis, William Mauldin and Josh Zumbrun reported in Friday’s Wall Street Journal that, “President Trump has agreed to a limited trade agreement with Beijing that will roll back existing tariff rates on Chinese goods and cancel new levies set to take effect Sunday as part of a deal to boost Chinese purchases of U.S. farm goods and obtain other concessions, according to people familiar with the matter.”

Natalie Andrews, William Mauldin and Anthony Harrup reported yesterday at The Wall Street Journal Online that, “A new U.S. trade deal with Mexico and Canada gained backing from House Democrats, setting the agreement on course for likely ratification by Congress in 2020 and marking a victory for President Trump after months of negotiations to modify it.”

Late last week, Wall Street Journal writers Grace Zhu, Eva Dou and Bob Davis reported that, “China’s trade negotiations with the U.S. remain on track, Beijing said, offering official reassurance after tensions flared between the world’s two biggest economies over human-rights issues in China.”

On Monday, Financial Times writers James Politi, Bryan Harris and Benedict Mander reported that, “Donald Trump will reimpose tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium from Brazil and Argentina after accusing the countries of a ‘massive devaluation’ of their currencies that hurt US farmers. The move — which was announced by Mr Trump on Twitter on Monday — sharply escalates trade tensions with the two struggling Latin American economies as they build closer ties with China.”

On Monday, the USDA released its Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade, a quarterly report from the Department’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and Economic Research Service (ERS).  Today’s update includes highlights from the report, which was coordinated by Kamron Daugherty and Hui Jiang.