The U.S.-China Cease-Fire on Trade Is Promising
Disputes between the two countries can be settled without higher tariffs.
Buying more soybeans is no solution.
Photographer: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
President Donald Trump’s decision to delay new tariffs on Chinese imports is good news. There’s no guarantee he’s about to strike a sensible agreement on trade with Beijing, but the suspension of hostilities is welcome.
Trump’s approach up to now has become all too familiar. Ratchet up tensions with incendiary rhetoric; impose unilateral sanctions; engage in talks ending in incremental or cosmetic concessions; then declare a historic triumph. The trade talks with China look set to conform. Beijing seems ready to buy more American beef and soybeans, but agreement on the more important structural issues – subsidies, market access, forced technology transfer and the like – apparently remains elusive.