And even if the latest agreement is finalized, it is a far cry from the comprehensive deal Trump once promised to force China to dramatically reshape its practices. “It is good to see the Trump administration reach an initial agreement with China after the rounds of escalation. In exchange, Trump confirmed he was withdrawing his threat to slap 15% tariffs on about $160 billion of Chinese imports on Sunday. He said negotiations on a Phase 2 deal would begin right away instead of after the 2020 U.S. election, as he had previously indicated. Short as it was on details, news of the deal was still welcomed by U.S. business groups.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 13, 2019 18:11 UTC