China, US Agree to Lift Existing Tariffs

Beijing and Washington have agreed to remove existing tariffs in tranches, China’s Commerce Ministry said Thursday.

“This is what [the two sides] agreed on following careful and constructive negotiations over the past two weeks,” ministry spokesman Gao Feng said at a routine briefing.

If a phase-one deal is signed, China and the U.S. should remove the tariffs at the same time and by the same amount, Mr. Gao said, adding that it was an important condition for a deal.

He didn’t give any information on when and where a deal could be signed.

“The trade war started with increasing tariffs and should end in removing all tariffs,” Mr. Gao said.

Removing all existing tariffs has always been Beijing’s bottom line to reach a trade deal with Washington. The U.S. has for months balked at scrapping all tariffs, aiming to keep at least some in place as a way to pressure China.

via HSN