As of March 1 there will be an increase from 10 to 25 percent. The Chinese delegation work over the weekend weekends and cites "substantial progress" in the fields affecting the US: protection of intellectual property, technology transfer, agriculture, services, money.
Washington (AsiaNews) - US President Donald Trump announced last night that he will postpone the date for the increase in duties on Chinese products, set for March 1. The reason is that talks between China and the US are making "substantial progress".
A Chinese delegation, led by vice premier Liu He, is currently in Washington for another round of talks. The meetings were to end on 22 February, but continued during the weekend. They also say that there is "substantial progress".
On March 1, Trump had promised that without an agreement, he would increase tariffs from 10% to 25% for more than 200 billion Chinese products.
In a tweet, the US president explains that there has been "progress" in "important structural areas including the protection of intellectual property, technology transfer, agriculture, services, money".
For years, the United States has accused China of stealing intellectual property from American companies and forcing technology transfer as a condition for working in China and for partnerships with Chinese companies.
Xinhua also confirmed that the two nations are making substantial progress in the same fields cited by Trump: protection of intellectual property, technology transfer, services, agriculture, currency, non-tariff barriers.
Trump suggested that, he could invite President Xi Jinping to Mar-a-Lago in Florida, where he owns a villa, for the signing of the agreement. Perhaps due to a possible agreement, the Asian stock markets today made gains.