Beijing is pressing the Trump administration to cancel the next round of trade duties, scheduled for December, including the earlier round of trade penalties imposed in September ahead of the possible visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to the United States, Politico reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter.
According to the media report, China is engaged in a "full-court press" for the removal of the tariffs in exchange for agreeing to buy up to $50 billion worth of US farm goods within two years and implement commitments to open its financial services sector and increase intellectual property protections.
Beijing is also reportedly expecting a 25 percent of tariff to be removed - or at least cut in half - on an additional $250 billion worth of Chinese goods, although that is not anticipated to be part of a Phase One deal right now, Politico said, citing sources.
Trump told reporters that Phase One of the US-China trade agreement could be signed in Iowa. According to US-based media reports, Iowa, a major farm state, has been hit by China's retaliatory agriculture-based economic penalties.
Trump and Xi were initially to sign the Phase One agreement during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Chile in mid-November, but the event was canceled after civil unrest broke out in the country.
Phase One of the trade negotiations is reportedly supposed to resolve issues concerning intellectual property, financial service and US agricultural exports. Trump said China agreed to purchase $40 to $50 billion of US farm goods under the trade deal.
The Phase One agreement could ease the US-China trade war, prompting economists to note that the trade confrontation is on track to result in a global recession.
