MARCH 1, the end of a 90-day truce declared by United States (US) President Donald Trump in its trade war with China, came and went yesterday, with no definite agreement between the two nations. But Trump’s statement that he was taking no further step to increase US tariffs on Chinese goods pending a meeting with China President Xi Jinping considerably raises hopes that the trade war is near its end.
The US had started the trade war early last July, 2018, when it slapped tariffs on $250 billion worth of imports from China and vowed to impose tariffs on $267 billion more. It accused China of unfair trade practices that had led to a huge trade surplus for China. China promptly responded with its own tariffs on $110 billion in US goods.
After so many months of growing uncertainty that has affected world trade as a whole, the US and China finally agreed to hold talks last month, with President Trump agreeing to a truce until March 1. There was still no agreement yesterday, but Trump cited “substantial progress” in the talks and said he was delaying a new increase in US tariffs on Chinese goods – from 10 to 25 percent – scheduled for that day. He is due to meet with President Xi at his estate in Florida, at which a final agreement is expected to be announced.
The delay in increased US tariffs was hailed as the clearest sign yet that agreement is near and the trade war that has affected not only US-China trade but also the entire world’s commerce and slowed global economic growth.
While the trade war has so far had minimal impact on the Philippines, it is bound to affect us if it lasts much longer, as the US and China are today the world’s two biggest economies and they are among the Philippines’ top trade partners.
The US today is involved in so many international issues. Trump is now in Vietnam meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in talks aimed at ending the state of hostilities between their two nations that has existed since the 1950s. Just across the Carribean from Florida, violence has erupted in Venezuela, with Trump supporting a leader challenging Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro. The US Congress has announced it will conduct an inquiry into alleged Russian interference in the US presidential election of 2016.
The Philippines is also closely following President Trump’s meeting with Kim Jong Un in Vietnam, but it is the developing prospect of a US-China agreement that now holds our attention for its direct effects on our own economic development and progress. We look forward to the coming summit meeting in Florida with the greatest hopes and expectations.
