U. S. and Chinese negotiators wrapped up a round of \u201cproductive\u201d trade talks Wednesday in Beijing and will meet again in Washington next week, the\u2026<\/b>
\nU. S. and Chinese negotiators wrapped up a round of \u201cproductive\u201d trade talks Wednesday in Beijing and will meet again in Washington next week, the White House said.
Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin and U. S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer focused the discussion on \u201cimportant structural issues and rebalancing the U. S.-China trade relationship,\u201d said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
She said the talks will continue next week when Chinese Vice Premier Liu He visits Washington, starting on May 8.
Both sides have cited progress in areas including intellectual property and forced technology transfer in their bid to end a tariff war that has hurt U. S. farmers and sent jitters through financial markets. But a major sticking point has been settling on an enforcement mechanism for any deal.
The U. S.-China Business Council said Wednesday that U. S. goods exports to China slumped last year, falling 7 percent from 2017.
\u201cTrade tensions and punitive actions have consequences for the national economy, as well as at the state level,\u201d said Craig Allen, president of USCBC. \u201cWe need a substantive agreement between the United States and China to address the long-standing concerns of foreign companies in China. A sustainable agreement must provide a way to verify that commitments are implemented, including for further market opening, intellectual property protection, and equal treatment for US companies.\u201d
He said an agreement \u201cmust also include a plan of action for the removal of all or most of the tariffs to reverse the damage we saw in 2018.\u201d<\/p>\n