The leaders of the world’s two largest economies, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, agreed to a temporary truce on trade Saturday at a highly anticipated dinner in Argentina.
After a two-and-a-half hour discussion, Trump agreed to maintain the 10% tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, and not raise them to 25% “at this time” ahead of a January 1 deadline, according to a White House statement from press secretary Sarah Sanders.
In exchange, China agreed it was willing to purchase a “very substantial” amount of agriculture, energy and other goods from the United States to help reduce the trade imbalance.
“If it happens it goes down as one of the largest deals ever made,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One during the return trip from the G20 summit. “It will have an incredibly positive impact on farming, meaning agriculture, industrial products, computers, every type of product.”
According to the White House statement, the two leaders agreed to immediately begin negotiations on top US concerns related to forced technology transfer, intellectual property and cyber theft. Both parties agreed to complete negotiations within 90 days. If they fail to reach a deal, the 10% tariffs will rise to 25%.
