U.S., China reach trade truce

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Chinese Vice Premier Liu He (left) shakes hands with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday before a trade meeting in Washington. Associated Press/Photo by Jose Luis Magana

The United States will forgo a planned tariff hike on Chinese imports worth $250 billion in exchange for China buying U.S. farm products valued at $40 billion to $50 billion. The countries agreed to the cease-fire in their ongoing trade war Friday, a few days before the tariffs were scheduled to take effect.

How significant is the deal? It staves off the most imminent import taxes and signals the two countries are willing to work together on a larger deal. But the two sides haven’t signed any promises yet, and another round of tariffs on Chinese goods worth $160 billion is coming up on Dec. 15.

Dig deeper: Some people in the United States want President Donald Trump to demand that China improve human rights conditions as part of a trade deal. Read June Cheng’s cover story in the latest issue of WORLD Magazine about how China treats pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.

Lynde Langdon

Lynde is WORLD’s executive editor for news. She is a graduate of World Journalism Institute, the Missouri School of Journalism, and the University of Missouri–St. Louis. Lynde resides with her family in Wichita, Kan.

@lmlangdon