US-China phase one trade deal could be signed within the week
As part of the agreement, Beijing agreed to buy $200B of US products over the next two years
The partial trade deal between the U.S. and China could be signed within the week, according to Peter Navarro, White House assistant for trade and manufacturing policy.
"We'll probably have a signing on that within the next week or so," he told Fox News on Monday. "We're just waiting for the translation."
Navarro's comments come after the South China Morning Post reported Monday, citing a source briefed on the matter, that Liu He, China’s chief trade negotiator, is leading a delegation to the U.S. on Saturday with the directive to sign the phase one trade agreement.
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A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.
As part of the trade agreement, Beijing agreed to buy $200 billion of U.S. products over the next two years from the manufacturing, energy, agriculture and services sectors, in addition to protecting against intellectual property theft and technology transfer.
In return, the U.S. will reduce tariffs on Chinese goods. About $380 billion of Chinese goods will still be taxed in an effort to force Beijing to negotiate a broad trade agreement.
The skinny trade deal further deescalates the nearly two-year-long trade war that has hurt growth in the world’s two largest economies. China’s economy grew at a 6 percent rate in the third quarter, its weakest since recordkeeping began in 1993. Economic expansion in the U.S. slowed to 2.1 percent in the July-to-September period, down from 3.1 percent at the beginning of the year.
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President Trump has said a comprehensive trade deal could occur in two or three phases.