US legislators, industry fret over Trump’s China trade deal eagerness
Concerns grow that president will not settle for a tough deal to change Beijing’s trade practices and industrial policies
Washington — President Donald Trump’s decision to delay a steep tariff hike on Chinese goods as he touted progress in weekend trade talks was greeted with a mixture of relief and dread among US industry groups and legislators on Monday. Some expressed concerns that after nearly eight months of tit-for-tat tariffs roiling global financial markets, disrupting manufacturing supply chains and shrinking US farm exports, Trump could end up settling for a deal that increases commodity sales to Beijing while doing little to change China’s underlying trade practices and industrial policies. Trump announced the delay on Sunday, without giving specifics, after his top trade negotiator, Robert Lighthizer, and Chinese vice-president Liu He wrapped up seven days of “very productive talks”. Tariffs on $200bn worth of Chinese imports had been set to rise to a prohibitive 25% from the current 10% if no deal was reached by Friday. “Glad 2 hear that Pres Trump won’t be increasing tariffs on China Marc...
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