Reading Time: 3 minutes Beijing/Washington | Reuters — The United States and China cooled their trade war on Friday, announcing a “phase one” agreement that reduces some U.S. tariffs in exchange for increased Chinese purchases of U.S. farm goods. Chinese officials offered no specific details on the amount of U.S. agricultural goods Beijing had agreed to buy, a key […] Read more
Chinese officials, Trump agree to tariff rollbacks
Freeland, U.S. and Mexican officials to meet to pin down trade deal
Reading Time: 4 minutes Washington/Mexico City | Reuters — The Trump administration, Mexico and U.S. Democrats on Monday closed in on a deal for labour-related changes to a languishing North American trade pact that may soon allow it to proceed to a vote, as the window for passage this year quickly narrows. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and White […] Read more
U.S. vows 100 per cent tariffs on France’s champagne, cheese over digital tax
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — The U.S. government on Monday said it may slap punitive duties of up to 100 per cent on US$2.4 billion in imports from France of champagne, handbags, cheese and other products, after concluding that France’s new digital services tax would harm U.S. tech companies. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said its […] Read more
China to request U.S. remove tariffs in exchange for ag buys
Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington | Reuters – Top U.S. and Chinese trade officials will discuss plans on Friday for China to buy more U.S. farm products, but in return, Beijing will request cancellation of some planned and existing U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports, people briefed on the talks told Reuters. Robert Lighthizer, the United States Trade Representative, U.S. […] Read more
U.S., Japan sign limited trade deal
Reading Time: 3 minutes New York | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe signed a limited trade deal on Wednesday that cuts tariffs on U.S. farm goods, Japanese machine tools and other products while further staving off the threat of higher U.S. car duties. Trump said the deal would open up Japanese markets […] Read more
Japan set to grant TPP-level access for U.S. beef, pork
Reading Time: 2 minutes Tokyo | Reuters — The United States and Japan have reached the broad framework of a trade agreement, Japan’s Nikkei business daily said on Saturday, with Tokyo making concessions on its agriculture but none immediately apparent from Washington on automobiles. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi reached the deal in Washington […] Read more
Trump threatens new tariffs as U.S.-China trade tensions spike again
Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington | Reuters – U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday moved to impose a 10 percent tariff on a remaining $300 billion list of Chinese imports starting Sept. 1, after U.S. and Chinese negotiators failed to kickstart trade talks between the world’s two largest economies. The levies – which would hit a wide swath of […] Read more
U.S. boosts trade pact’s outlook lifting tariffs on Canadian, Mexican metals
Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington/Ottawa | Reuters — The United States struck deals on Friday to lift tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and Mexico, the three governments said, removing a major obstacle to legislative approval of a new North American trade pact. The separate agreements, which will not impose U.S. quotas on Canadian and Mexican metals […] Read more
USMCA deal modestly boosts U.S. economy, trade panel finds
Reading Time: 4 minutes Washington | Reuters — The new North American free trade pact would modestly boost the U.S. economy, especially auto parts production, but may curb vehicle assembly and limit consumer choice in cars, a hotly anticipated analysis from the U.S. International Trade Commission showed on Thursday. The ITC report is a crucial step in the push […] Read more
Trump delays tariff hike on Chinese goods, citing trade talk progress
Reading Time: 4 minutes Washington | Reuters — President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would delay an increase in U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods thanks to “productive” trade talks and that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping would meet to seal a deal if progress continued. The announcement was the clearest sign yet that China and the U.S. […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
