U.S-China trade war sprouts olive branch

The trade war between the US and China has been on for nearly the last one year..It has impacted the global economy and India has also not been left unscathed..The clash over tariff and non-tariff issues impacting the balance of trade between the world’s two largest economies..have hurt them as well..so much so that a thaw seems to be decending in autumn raising hopes of the new age cold war going into ceasefire mode before winter sets in ..here are the details..

The raging trade war between the U.S-China is showing signs of a cool down..Thursday morning India time saw U.S President Donald Trump putting out 2 tweets saying..

At the request of the Vice Premier of China, Liu He, and due to the fact that the People’s Republic of China will be celebrating their 70th Anniversary.

On October 1st, we have agreed, as a gesture of good will, to move the increased Tariffs on 250 Billion Dollars worth of goods (25% to 30%), from October 1st to October 15th.

Trump’s tweet means a fortnight long deferment on another round of tariff hikes coming into effect on a sizeable chunk of Chinese goods.

A sign of goodwill which could turn the tide on trade and diplomatic hostilities between the world’s two biggest economies..China certainly sees a ray of hope in the U.S President’s latest trade move.

“China welcomes the U.S. goodwill gesture. As far as I know, Chinese enterprises have already begun to inquiry about purchasing American agricultural products. We hope that the two sides will continue to meet each other halfway and take concrete actions to create favorable conditions for the consultation, which is in the interests of both sides and the whole world at large.”

As for the 13th round of China-U.S. high-level economic and trade consultations, both sides are communicating on the relevant arrangements thereof. Further details will be announced in a timely manner.”

— Trump’s move came hours after China said it would spare a number of US products from punitive tariffs
— China’s decision seen as an olive branch being extended from Beijing to Washington DC
— Chinese move ahead of high-level trade talks in October in Washington
— But goods spared do not include agricultural items crucial to success of a trade deal
— exemptions become effective from 17th of September and will be valid for a year
— Spared goods mainly include seafood products & anti-cancer
— Both sides imposed fresh tit-for-tat tariffs on the 1st of September
— Raised levies now cover goods worth hundreds of billions of dollars

A bilateral trade deal between U.S and China has been in the works almost ever since the trade war was triggered off last year. The U.S a huge trade imbalance tilted in China’s favour to be addressed apart from issues related to intellectual property matters & non-tariff barriers which have kept several american companies out of the massive Chinese market.