Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who met with Mr. Liu on Wednesday, said a day earlier that the Huawei case was being handled on a separate track from the trade talks. But given China’s heated reaction to the arrest and indictment, it is hard to imagine that Chinese officials will not raise the issue. China has demonstrated a willingness to address Mr. Trump’s concerns about the United States’ bilateral trade deficit with big purchases of goods and services, like chicken, soybeans and tractors. But if the tariffs are lifted as part of a trade deal, there is no guarantee that China will live up to any commitments. American officials, who say China has broken promises in the past, have discussed mechanisms such as “snapback” tariffs that would be reimposed if China does not follow through.

Source: New York Times January 31, 2019 02:03 UTC