(Newswire.net — November 17, 2019) — Washington – The US and China are moving closer to a trade agreement, White House economic adviser Larry Kadlow told CNBC.
Kadlow emphasized the fact that very constructive talks were held with Beijing to end the 16-month long trade war.
Kadlow said the negotiators of the world’s two largest economies were communicating via telephone, and he did not disclose a timeframe that a deal could be reached.
“We are getting closer to a deal,” he said in Washington, adding that the atmosphere was good, which, he says, was not always the case.
The US-China customs war has shaken the world’s financial market and created threats to slow global economic growth once more since the 2007 and 2008 crisis.
There were hints that an agreement would be reached in May, but that failed after U.S. negotiators announced the Chinese had abandoned the draft agreement.
Kadlow’s statement could calm the market’s concerns, which have intensified again this week following reports of alleged delays in negotiations. The announcement of US President Donald Trump, who said he could impose new customs duties if no agreement was reached, did not help.
Kadlow expressed optimism and noted that the possibility had been created that a deal could be reached without the meeting of Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Trump hoped that the “first phase” of the deal with China would be concluded on the sidelines at a meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, which was due to take place in Chile, but Santiago withdrew from being the host for the meeting.
Kadlow revealed that the White House was still hoping for a deal during that period. He joked, saying he wanted the agreement signed in his office, on the second floor of the White House.
US-China trade talks are getting held up because of disagreements on a number of issues, CNBC reports state three key points:
The two sides are at a stalemate despite saying a month ago they had an agreement in principle.
The U.S. is trying to secure stronger concessions from China to regulate IP protections and to stop the practice of forced tech transfer.
The Wall Street Journal reported China is hesitant to commit to a specific amount of agricultural products in the anticipation of a potential deal.
Larry Kudlow told CNBC on Tuesday that the two sides have made progress on issues ragarding IP theft, financial services, currency stability, commodities and agriculture.