The US Chamber of Commerce on Thursday said it was critical for China to accelerate purchases of American goods to honor the trade agreement between the two countries despite disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th June, 2020) The US Chamber of Commerce on Thursday said it was critical for China to accelerate purchases of American goods to honor the trade agreement between the two countries despite disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
"Implementation is critical," the chamber said in a statement, responding to a virtual meeting held a day earlier among top US and Chinese business leaders. "COVID-19 has unquestionably slowed progress for both governments, and it will be critical for the pace of implementation of purchases to accelerate markedly."
US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping signed their so-called Phase One deal in January, after a year-long tariffs war between the two world powers. Under the agreement, China agreed to increase its purchases of US goods and services by at least $200 billion over the next two years compared to 2017 imports. For its part, the United States agreed to trim some tariffs but maintain them on $360 billion worth of Chinese imports.
But right after the signing of the deal, the COVID-19 broke out in China, and eventually the world, in a big way. Since then, the trade agreement has seen limited implementation due to economic challenges from the pandemic and diplomatic tensions caused by Trump's accusations that Beijing was responsible for the global outbreak of the virus. China also threatened retaliation after Trump signed legislation on Wednesday calling for sanctions over the alleged repression of China's Uighurs, a Muslim minority.
The US Chamber of Commerce said it was against tariffs as a way of solving trade disputes.
"We remain a vocal proponent of open markets and free trade, including with China, that is mutually beneficial, safe, and secure," the chamber said in its statement. "There are both significant challenges and opportunities of doing business with China. China's customer base of 1.4 billion consumers is the fastest growing market for US companies, large and small, and cannot be ignored. At the same time, there are considerable national security, political geostrategic, and economic challenges in our relationship with China."
The US deficit in goods with China widened to $25.96 billion in May, from $16.99 billion the prior month. Year-to-date, the deficit with China amounts to $87.60 billion, compared with $123.68 billion in the same period of 2019.
