By Isaac Cohen*
China and the United States, over the weekend in Washington, decided to avert a trade war between the first and second major global economies. Without providing many details, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Saturday and during the Sunday talk shows declared “we are putting the trade war on hold.”
The announcement came at the conclusion of a return visit to Washington by the Vice Premier of China Liu He, following a visit to China by a US delegation led by Treasury Secretary Mnuchin the previous a week. The only concrete result known was that Washington decided to refrain from imposing tariffs on imports from China, while the conversations continue. There was no mention if a trade surplus reduction figure of $200 billion was accepted by China, or if the United States decided to lift sanctions imposed against the Chinese phone company LTZ. Also, there was no mention of other key issues for the United States such as technology transfers, cyber theft and intellectual property protection.
Some analysts noted the proximity of the trade truce to the expected US-North Korea summit, which Beijing supports. While others noted the leadership assumed by Secretary Mnuchin as indicative that the moderate faction within the executive branch has the initiative. There were also negative reactions among President Trump supporters. Daniel DiMicco from the trade lobbying group Coalition for a Prosperous America, quoted in The New York Times, said the President “is letting down all those who voted for him and rewarding those who didn’t.”
*International analyst and consultant, former Director ECLAC Washington Commentator on economic and financial issues for CNN en Español TV and radio, UNIVISION, TELEMUNDO and other media.
