China Talks Conclude in China, Will Resume May 8
The White House said that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had productive meetings with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He. "The discussions remain focused toward making substantial progress on important structural issues and rebalancing the US-China trade relationship," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said.
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Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, a past USTR, told Bloomberg TV he's heard they're talking about a schedule of reducing tariffs. "I think in order to get the best deal possible, it’s going to be required to remove the tariffs that are currently in place, including those tariffs on the $200 billion that was put on more recently. But you should have an agreement that says that those can be re-imposed immediately. That’s the consequence. I think to get the right agreement, you reduce the tariffs immediately, even eliminate them over a period of time and then I think you have the ability to re-impose those tariffs should there be a problem. I know there’s been discussion of keeping tariffs in place. I don’t think that will result in an as productive negotiation or as good a deal for the United States.”