The Americans and the Chinese have been carrying out back-channel talks over how to resolve their differences, but both sides remain hesitant to embrace more formal negotiations. At present, the discussion is mostly centered on whether more formal talks should resume. However, China decided not to send its most senior officials to the meeting, so no bilateral discussion was held, Mr. Mnuchin said. “Increasing the size of the tariffs is merely increasing the harm that will be done,” said Matthew Shay, the president of the National Retail Federation. A public hearing about the $200 billion list is scheduled for late August, when American companies and individuals will be able to tell the United States trade representative which products they think should be on or off the list.

Source: New York Times August 01, 2018 16:16 UTC