Thomas Peter/Reuters
- The United States and China have agreed to roll back a number of tariffs, according to Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson, Gao Feng.
- While a positive development, “this is more of the same kind of pump we see almost daily,” Neil Wilson at Markets.com said.
- US futures rallied on the news.
- View Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
The US and China agreed to roll back a number of tariffs as part of an attempt to form a trade deal, according to Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson, Gao Feng.
Gao told reporters Thursday: “In the past two weeks, top negotiators had serious, constructive discussions and agreed to remove the additional tariffs in phases as progress is made on the agreement,” Gao said according to Bloomberg.
Gao added: “If China, US reach a phase-one deal, both sides should roll back existing additional tariffs in the same proportion simultaneously based on the content of the agreement, which is an important condition for reaching the agreement.”
“Let’s be clear – this is more of the same kind of pump we see almost daily,” Neil Wilson at Markets.com said in an emailed note. “But it’s decidedly positive nonetheless. The question remains whether the White House would be prepared to ditch all tariffs in exchange for some vague commitments on agricultural products and IP and think it can sell that as a win to voters.”
The remarks could mark a turning point in the trade and a possible move into the second, more complicated step of negotiations in terms of intellectual property rights — a potential sticking point — once an interim trade deal is completed.
This comes after the news earlier this week where multiple reports suggested that the US was considering whether to roll back tariffs. The Financial Times reported that the White House may remove tariffs on consumer appliances, while Reuters and Bloomberg separately said that the US was considering rolling back $360 billion worth of tariffs.
Bloomberg also reported that Xi and Trump’s face to face meeting which was due to take place next week could now take place in December.
“The trade war started with tariffs, and should end with the cancellation of tariffs,” Gao said according to Reuters.
US futures rallied on the news, as according to CNBC Dow futures jumped 100 points after Gao’s remarks.
“The comments from the Chinese commerce ministry do indicate a path out of the mire,” Wilson said.
