The U.S. and China have signed the first phase of a broader trade pact amid persistent questions over whether President Donald Trump’s efforts to rewrite the economic relationship with Beijing will ever go any further.
The deal commits China to do more to crack down on the theft of American technology and corporate secrets by its companies and state entities, while outlining a $200 billion spending spree to try to close its trade imbalance with the U.S.
It also binds Beijing to avoid currency manipulation to gain an advantage and includes an enforcement system to ensure promises are kept.
The Parties agreed to ensure effective protection for trade secrets and confidential business information and effective enforcement against the misappropriation of such information.
According to the Economic and Trade Agreement between the United States Of America and The People’s Republic Of China, both countries agreed to ensure effective protection for trade secrets and confidential business information and effective enforcement against the misappropriation of such information.
The 94 page agreement also covers Technology Transfer and Trade in Food and Agricultural products including dairy products. This agreement allows extended shelf life (ESL) milk produced in the United States to be imported and sold as pasteurized milk in China. It also allows fortified milk produced in the United States to be imported into China subject to China’s National Food Safety Standard.
Based on the request and information provided by the United States on February 13, 2019, and on March 6, 2019, both countries shall, within one month of the date of entry into force of this Agreement, commence technical discussions on the preparation of a U.S. export health certificate and a protocol for the importation into China of U.S. breeding cattle, with a view to realizing trade as soon as possible.
Aiming to better meet Chinese consumers’ ever growing needs for meat, within 10 working days of the date of entry into force of this Agreement China shall permit the importation into China of those pork and pork products inspected by the FSIS in an FSIS-approved facility.
China will allow importation of U.S. meat, poultry meat, and processed meat and poultry meat facilities.
Rules will also be put in place to ensure Chinese aquatic products exported to the United States meet U.S. requirements.
China will also allow importation of rice from the US approved facilities with China retaining the right to conduct on-site phytosanitary audits of these registered rice facilities.
On financial services, China shall accept any applications from a U.S. Electronic payment services supplier, including an application of a supplier seeking to operate as a wholly foreign-owned entity.
This trade agreement also has chapters on Macroeconomic Policies and Exchange Rate Matters and Transparency and Expanding Trade.
The deal was signed Wednesday in a packed East Room at the White House, attended by President Donald Trump, dozens of American businesspeople and U.S. lawmakers as well as Chinese officials.
It was a rare moment for Trump who is still faced with impeachment proceedings and a presidential poll to take place in November this year.
The US-China trade feud has been on for the past three years, rattling world financial markets and hurting growth of both nations-considered the world’s largest economies.
“This is a very important and remarkable occasion,” Trump said. Fixing what he sees as the injustices of past trade deals is “probably the biggest reason why I ran for president,” he added. “Together we are righting the wrongs of the past.”
In a letter to Trump read out at the ceremony, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said the deal proved the two sides could work together to bridge their differences and declared it “good for China, the U.S. and the whole world.”
