US, Chinese Officials To Speak By Phone Friday As Trade Deal Nearly Inked - Secretary Ross

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published November 15, 2019 | 07:24 PM

Officials from the United States and China have worked out almost all of the details of a preliminary trade agreement and will speak by phone later in the day, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in an interview on Friday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th November, 2019) Officials from the United States and China have worked out almost all of the details of a preliminary trade agreement and will speak by phone later in the day, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in an interview on Friday.

"There is a very high probability of it," Ross told Fox business Network when asked whether the United States would soon reach a 'phase one' trade agreement with China. "We're much farther along in terms of detail. There are calls all the time. Another call today."

Both countries want to make a deal, but Washington remains ready for unexpected turns in negotiations at the last moment, Ross warned. He emphasized that the United States is in a win-win position in the trade talks. "The tariffs will continue, or we will have an acceptable deal. with China," he said.

On October 13, US President Donald Trump announced he had agreed in principle to a "phase one" trade deal with China's Vice Premier Liu He after high-level negotiations between the two sides in Washington.

Liu, in turn, said that negotiations must be conducted on the basis of equal and mutual respect to address the two countries' core concerns.

The phase one deal is expected to cover key trade issues that have been subject of disagreement, including intellectual property, financial services and US agricultural exports. Trump said earlier that China had also agreed to purchase $40 to $50 billion of US agricultural goods under the trade deal.

The trade row between the world's two largest economies erupted in June 2018 when the United States imposed the first round of tariffs on Chinese imports, prompting Beijing to respond in kind. Since then, the two countries have been engaged in a full-blown trade war.