US & China Likely To Formulate Trade Deals

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could reach a formal trade deal at a summit around March 27 given progress in talks between the two countries, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The two nations have imposed tit-for-tat tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of each others` goods, roiling financial markets, disrupting manufacturing supply chains and shrinking U.S. farm exports.

China would lower tariffs on U.S.-made goods including agricultural products, chemicals and cars in exchange for sanctions relief from Washington, the Journal said, citing people briefed on the matter on both sides.

The newspaper`s sources cautioned that hurdles remain, and each side faces possible resistance at home that the terms are too favorable to the other side.

As a part of the deal there would be a $18 billion purchase of natural-gas from Houston-based Cheniere Energy Inc, the report said.

Cheniere declined to comment on the potential for a new LNG supply deal with China, a spokesman said. It last year signed a 20-year deal to supply state-run Chinese National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) with natural gas from its Louisiana export terminal through 2043.

The United States is working to hammer out a detailed trade agreement with China that will include specific structural commitments, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC on Thursday.

Last week, Trump said the U.S. could walk away from a trade deal with China if it were not good enough, even as his economic advisers touted "fantastic" progress towards an agreement to end the dispute with Beijing.