INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
By Jenny Leonard and Jeffrey BlackChinese and United States negotiators have been working line-by-line through the text of an agreement
that can be put before President Donald Trump and counterpart Xi Jinping to defuse a nearly year-long trade war, according to officials
familiar with the matter.
United States Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer held
meetings in Beijing Friday partly to ensure there were no discrepancies in the English and Chinese-language versions of the text, and also
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is due in Washington next week.
The focus on the joint wording has become a key issue after United States
officials complained that Chinese versions of the text had walked back or omitted commitments made by negotiators, the officials said
questions seeking comment.
The burst of diplomacy suggests both sides remain determined to reach an agreement that would avoid any
China wants the United States tariffs imposed on Chinese goods lifted but Trump said last week the duties would remain in place for a
of equality between the two sides, hence the focus on matching visits to Beijing and Washington, the people said
While talks have taken place by phone over the past month, the last face-to-face meetings took place in Washington in February.
Enforcement
MechanismThe key areas where the United States is demanding better terms include China improving treatment of United States intellectual
property, opening up market access for American companies and agreeing on an enforcement mechanism for the trade deal, Kudlow said
The United States wants regular meetings to assess whether China is living up to promises, and wants to be able to impose tariffs on China
-- with no threat of counter-retaliation -- if it fails to do so, he said.
The United States focus on translation issues came after
negotiators felt China was backtracking on previous commitments it made on IP and tech issues
After the latest round of face-to-face talks, Chinese negotiators frustrated United States officials by sending back text on IP with entire
sections crossed out that had already been agreed to by Lighthizer and Liu, people familiar with the situation said.
Kudlow on Thursday said
the United States may remove some of the tariffs on Chinese goods, but not all
Some of the tariffs would be kept there
Again, when Bob Lighthizer comes back, he will illuminate all of us on that
