U.S.-China Negotiations On “Trade War” Are Unsuccessful

U.S.-China tensions have increased over the weekend; the trade negotiations in Beijing were unsuccessful. The two countries are expected to move forward with tariffs on one another, as the so-called “trade war” seems to just be getting started.

The negotiations come after the Trump administration announced its plans to implement a baffling 25% tariff in 50$ billion worth of Chinese goods. Even more baffling, this announcement came after several statements from the U.S. indicating that the “trade war” had been put to a halt while the negotiations were taking place.

The White House then announced that: “The United States will implement specific investment restrictions and enhanced export controls for Chinese persons and entities related to the acquisition of industrially significant technology.” The tariffs were targeted to complicate China’s access to “industrially significant technology” in the U.S. They have been designed as a response to what the White House has described as unfair trade practices from the country.

Chinese officials afterward stated that the news comes as both surprising and an obvious procedure. The Chinese Commerce Ministry said: “[the] statement is obviously in violation of the consensus reached in Washington recently by both China and the United States. Regardless of what measures the US launches, China has the confidence, capability and experience in safeguarding the interests of the Chinese people and its core national interests.”

The U.S. delegation was led by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. One of the main topics of discussion was regarding China’s previously-stated intentions to buy American farm and energy products. Officials have reported that, while there seems to be some agreement over negotiations of said products, these promises won’t go into effect if the U.S. chooses to implement its sanctions. Some speculate that the delegation is likely to leave Beijing without any joint public announcement by the Chinese government and the U.S.

Finance officials from the Group of Seven industrialized nations, meanwhile, have released a statement expressing their concern; they believe that the “collaboration and cooperation [between the countries] has been put at risk by [U.S.] trade actions against other members.” This procedure is unprecedented since there has never been an instance where the members of the G-7 joined to single out a specific country, nor expressed a feeling of being threatened by said country’s actions and policies.

China has not completely dismissed the possibility of future negotiations and a trade relationship with the U.S. This situation has given them the opportunity to position themselves as the protector of the global trading order. In a statement released on Xinhua, the country’s official news agency, it was said that “China is willing to increase imports from all countries including the U.S., which is beneficial to the two countries and to the whole world.”

Yet, the U.S. has shown no indications of rolling back on their tariff-implementation project. A White House official has stated:

“I don’t see any evidence that the president wants to pull back on that. The president has been leading the charge on that. There is what I regard as widespread agreement inside the government on that. Many of us have said, and the president has said, that the U.S. is always willing to negotiate in good faith on any and all of these matters under dispute. But thus far we’ve not been satisfied.”

During talks with the U.S. delegation, China has stated that they would move forward with the purchasing of American energy products, but that if the tariffs were to be implemented, they would also apply harsh trade levies to those products.

Featured Image via: Flickr/Gage Skidmore