US, China near deal to suspend planned tariffs

Stacked containers wait to be loaded on to trucks at the Port of Oakland in Oakland, California. China’s government says trade negotiators are in “close communication” with Washington ahead of a weekend deadline for a United States tariff hike. But a Ministry of Commerce spokesman gave no indication of possible progress in trade talks or whether Washington might postpone the increase. BEN MARGOT/AP

WASHINGTON – The Trump administration and China are close to finalizing a modest trade agreement that would suspend tariffs set to kick in Sunday, de-escalating their 17-month trade war.

A “deal is close,″ said Myron Brilliant, the United States (US) Chamber of Commerce’s head of international affairs, who has been briefed by both sides.

Brilliant said the administration has agreed to suspend Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on $160 billion in Chinese imports Sunday and to reduce existing tariffs, though it wasn’t clear by how much.

In return, Beijing would buy more US farm products, increase Americans companies’ access to the Chinese market and tighten protection for intellectual property rights.

The deal awaits final approval from President Donald Trump.

Trump took to Twitter early Thursday to declare: “Getting very close to a big deal with China. They want it, and so do we!”

The president’s comments triggered a daylong rally on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 220 points, or 0.8 percent. (AP)

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