Advertisement
Advertisement
US-China trade war
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
China has been trying to use increased purchases of US farm products as a key bargaining chip to facilitate a trade deal with the United States, but US President Donald Trump said he will not accept a “partial” deal. Photo: Bloomberg

China to buy more US farm products in latest goodwill gesture as Donald Trump rules out ‘bad deal’

  • Purchases will include soybeans and pork after last week the US excluded hundreds of products from a 25 per cent duty imposed on US$250 billion worth of goods
  • The US president seemed to further rule out thoughts of a ‘partial’ deal in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday

China will support purchases of more US farm products, including soybeans and pork, by offering exemptions from additional tariffs as a goodwill gesture ahead of high-level trade talks set to take place in Washington at the start of next month, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

The additional purchase plan is in response to the decision by the United States last week to exclude hundreds of products, including Christmas tree lights, a series of pet supplies and plastic drinking straws, from a 25 per cent duty US President Donald Trump had imposed on US$250 billion worth of Chinese goods.

The brief Xinhua statement, citing China’s Ministry of Commerce and the National Development and Reform Commission, suggests that China will decide on ad hoc basis over how many orders it will place and whether they will be exempt from tariffs.

According to data from the US Department of Agriculture, private exporters reported combined sales of 720,000 tonnes of soybeans to China on September 13, 16 and 17.

China has been trying to use increased purchases of US farm products as a key bargaining chip to facilitate a trade deal with the US, but Trump said he will not accept a “partial” deal.

Trump also launched a forceful attack on China over its trade policies during his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, saying the past two decades has proven “completely wrong” the theory that China’s accession to the World Trade Organisation in 2001 would lead to a liberalisation of its economy, the strengthening of protection for private property and the rule of law.

“Not only has China declined to adopt promised reforms, it has embraced an economic model dependent on massive market barriers, heavy state subsidies, currency manipulation, product dumping, forced technology transfers and the theft of intellectual property and also trade secrets on a grand scale,” Trump said as delegates from China looked on.

“The American people are absolutely committed to restoring balance in our relationship with China. Hopefully, we can reach an agreement that will be beneficial for both countries. As I have made very clear, I will not accept a bad deal.”

Vice-Premier Liu He is expected to lead a Chinese delegation to Washington at the start of October to meet US counterparts led by US trade representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Preliminary talks last week in Washington were described as being “constructive” by China, while the Office of the United States Trade Representative said the talks were “productive”, without elaborating.

Speculation had increased that the talks had ran into difficulties after a vice Chinese agriculture minister cancelled a trip to US farming states, but both Beijing and Washington explained that the cancelled trip was not an indication of difficulties during the negotiations.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: china to buy more u.s. farm goods
Post