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US-China Talks at G-20 Unlikely to End Trade Disputes

President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, are set to meet on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan, this weekend.

The two will try to unpack what’s going on in the U.S.-China trade dispute, why negotiations have become difficult, and how the two sides can come to a deal.

A deal will get done, eventually. Trump regularly says he wants a deal. Just don’t expect that deal this weekend.

More likely, we’ll see Trump and Xi agree to pretty much the same thing they agreed to at last year’s G-20 summit. Last December, the presidents agreed to postpone any new tariffs on traded goods between the U.S. and China during negotiations.

A similar agreement this weekend would mean the 25% tax the Trump administration currently has on $250 billion worth of goods Americans buy from China will remain until a deal is done, a cost Americans will have to continue to pay.

Alternatively, Trump is planning another 25% tax on $300 billion worth of other Chinese goods if negotiations aren’t successful.

So, when will a deal get done? And how much longer will Americans have to pay these taxes? It’s hard to say.

Yet, it’s important to remember that a deal now won’t mean an end to the number of other complaints the U.S. has of the Chinese government, whether it’s concerns over commercial practices in China or otherwise.

Read the full story from The Daily Signal


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