Trade truce – US-China Holds Off Impending Tariffs
The two of the most powerful leaders of the world met on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Osaka, Japan to talk about the tariff war between the United States and China.
In an interview, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he would hold back from imposing new tariffs and that the two giants also agreed that China would buy agricultural good from the United States.
Before the G20 meeting, Chinese officials were already confident that the tariff-man would not enforce new tariffs on Chinese exports and were speculating whether Trump would agree to resume trade talks.
White House director of the Economic Council, Larry Kudlow said that there is still no timetable for the completion of the said agreement. He also added that the countries are already about 90% to sealing the deal.
An economist said that the truce is actually a subtle win for China, as Asian stocks rallied and bonds retreated on early trading this Monday.
The agreement between the two economic giants helped avert a potential threat in the global economy.
Asian futures, such as Japan’s Nikkei and Shanghai Composite, significantly rose after the G20 summit.
The US market also felt a surge after the meeting. The S&P 500 index gained 0.6%, Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, and Nasdaq composite increased 0.5%.
Despite positive news in the market, the outcome was not as upbeat as expected by analysts.
US Changes Stance on Huawei Ban
Apart from the sudden change of heart for tariffs, President Donald Trump also changes his stance on blacklisting Huawei.
Security hawks in the United States were furious with Trump’s decision. Analysts and critics were expecting that both parties will agree to a truce. However, they did not expect a sudden change in stance from the president.
Aside from the tech-giant, eight (8) other companies were removed from the “entity list” of the Commerce Department; Beijing Bayi Space LCD Materials Technology Co., Hubei Flying Optical, Sunder Tools Technology, Wuhan Yifi Laser Equipment Co., Wuxi Hengling Technology Co. Ltd., Xiamen Sanan Optoelectronics, Zhejiang Xizi Aviation, and Zolix Instruments Co.
Senator Marco Rubio tweeted in dismay, “If President Trump has agreed to reverse recent sanctions against #Huawei he has made a catastrophic mistake,” adding that lifting the imposed restrictions to the telecom company would destroy the credibility of the administration and future warnings will no longer be taken seriously.
