US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin arrive in Beijing today for a new round of trade negotiations Ahead of that Reuters reported that there were unprecedented progress on a core issue in technology transfers.
Citing unnamed officials, it’s said that China’s proposals went further than in the past, which created hope for an eventual trade deal. The discussions on forced technology transfer covered areas that were not touched before, in terms of both scope and specifics.
Meanwhile, the texts of agreements moved forward in all areas even though they’re not where the US want to be. The areas are believed to include forced technology transfer and cyber theft, intellectual property rights, services, currency, agriculture and non-tariff barriers to trade.
Another official noted that some of the tariffs imposed since last year will stay even after a deal is made. And this will be an important issue to resolve, as an important part of the final deal. But for now, there is no clear timeline for completing the deal yet. And negotiations could drag on till June.
