Economic - Markets
USDA and US Trade Representative announce progress on farm provisions of the US-China trade deal
According to reporting from Reuters, the USDA and US Trade Representative have made progress in implementing Phase 1 of the deal signed on 14 February.
In a joint statement, they outlined steps that should help boost US exports of beef, poultry and other farm products to China. They also said that US food and agricultural exports were benefitting from Chinese tariff relief.
"These steps show that China is moving in the right direction to implement the Phase 1 agreement," said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. "We will continue to work with China to ensure full implementation of its commitments and look forward to seeing further improvement and progress as we continue our ongoing bilateral discussions."
As part of the deal signed in January, Beijing agreed to nearly double purchases of US farm products and lower multiple agricultural trade barriers that limited US access to the Chinese market.
Though the deal has steadied some of the economic shocks of the trade war, imports of key products remain well below pre-trade war levels.
