International Economic Law Project Report topic: us&china trade war

Day 565: January 15, 2020 – US, China sign phase one trade deal
On Wednesday morning, US and China finally signed the long-awaited phase one trade deal at the White House, easing 18-month trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.
Most significantly, the phase one deal will cut US tariffs and boost China’s purchases of US products.
The Trump administration scrapped tariffs initially set to take effect last month and reaffirmed its commitment to reducing duties from 15 to 7.5 percent on US$120 billion worth of Chinese products. However, the agreement will still leave tariffs on US$250 billion in Chinese products in place.
China, on its part, agreed to purchase at least an additional US$200 billion worth of US goods and services over the next two years – above a baseline of US$186 billion purchases in 2017.
This includes:

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  US$ 78 billion in additional manufactured goods;
  
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  US$ 54 billion in additional energy purchases;
  
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  US$ 32 billion in additional farm products purchases; and
  
• 
  US$ 38 billion worth of services.
  

Details on specific product purchases in each of the categories will not be released as both sides feel such disclosure could risk distorting markets.
The phase one deal, which is 96 pages long, also touches upon issues long-disputed by China and the US, such as: intellectual property, technology transfer, currency, and foreign exchange.


Day 622: February 17, 2020 – China grants tariff exemptions on 696 US goods to support purchases
According to the announcement by China’s Tariff Commission, 696 US commodities will be exempted from Chinese additional tariffs, as the Chinese government seeks to fulfill the commitments made in the trade deal with the US.
The 696 products include pork, beef, soybeans, wheat, corn, sorghum, ethanol, liquefied natural gas, crude oil, steel rails, and some medical equipment.
From March 2, 2020, the Tariff Commission will accept applications from Chinese companies that intend to sign contracts to purchase and import related goods from the US.