U.S.-China Trade Deal To Be Signed This Week

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will travel with a delegation of 10 officials this week to Washington, D.C. where he will join President Donald Trump at the White House to sign a limited, phase one trade deal with the United States.

While the United States and China still have not released the full details of the phase one plan, as Connecting the Dots has reported, the agreement includes policy and transparency commitments related to currency issues. The provision is aimed at addressing “unfair currency practices by requiring high-standard commitments to refrain from competitive devaluations and targeting of exchange rates, while promoting transparency and providing mechanisms for accountability and enforcement.” A White House fact sheet promised, “This approach will help reinforce macroeconomic and exchange rate stability and help ensure that China cannot use currency practices to unfairly compete against U.S. exporters.”

According to Politico, Senate Finance Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) promised U.S. lawmakers will exercise rigorous oversight regarding whether China is living up to the commitments it has made under the deal.

Regarding next steps, President Trump said last week that he expects discussions about phase two to begin right away. The president cautioned, however, that he “might want to wait to finish it till after the election, because by doing that I think we can actually make a little bit better deal, maybe a lot better deal.”