US USTR: "China Expected to Comply with US-China Agreement"... Trump "No Decision Yet"

Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
[Photo by AP News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) confirmed in a statement the phone call between the U.S. and China trade officials and stated, "Despite the current global health crisis (COVID-19), both countries are fully expected to fulfill their obligations under the timely agreement (Phase One Trade Agreement)."

According to Bloomberg News on the 8th (local time), the USTR also emphasized, "Both sides agreed that good progress is being made in building the necessary infrastructure to successfully implement the (existing) agreement."

This is interpreted as the Chinese side expressing a somewhat principled stance regarding the implementation of the U.S.-China Phase One Trade Agreement, while the U.S. side indirectly pressured China for active compliance.

Earlier, China's Xinhua News Agency reported that Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held a phone call that day and reached a consensus to implement the trade agreement despite the COVID-19 situation.

The Phase One U.S.-China trade agreement signed last January stipulates that China will purchase a large volume of U.S. products, including agricultural products, while the U.S. will withdraw planned additional tariffs on China and reduce tariff rates on some existing products.

In particular, China agreed to purchase an additional $200 billion (231.7 trillion KRW) worth of U.S. products over the next two years compared to 2017 levels in sectors such as agricultural products, manufactured goods, services, and energy.

However, concerns have been raised about whether the implementation of the U.S.-China Phase One Trade Agreement can proceed properly as China, where COVID-19 originated, has also suffered significant economic damage including reduced demand.

President Trump also heightened tensions with China on the same day. In a morning interview with Fox News, President Trump mentioned the trade agreement with China, saying, "I am having a very hard time with China," and "If you want to know the truth, I have not made a decision yet."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.