Trump told Air Force One reporters on Friday that he wasn`t even thinking about the trade deal anymore. However, the world`s two largest economies never set a timetable for the second phase and trade negotiations were quickly overshadowed when countries around the world had to deal with the pandemic. Progress towards the second phase of the trade pact has been complicated by many factors. First, the Trump administration has accused China of spreading COVID-19 around the world, and it has particularly affected America. To date, 136,000 Americans have been killed by the pandemic. Asked by reporters aboard Air Force One about the possibility of a second-phase trade deal after implementing a Phase 1 deal this year, Trump said, “I`m not thinking about it now,” adding that he had many other things in mind. “I`m not thinking about it now,” Trump told reporters when asked about the possibility of a second round of the trade deal. NDTV reports that U.S. President Donald Trump has ruled out the second phase of the U.S.-China trade deal for now. He says relations between the two countries have been severely damaged by Beijing`s handling of the coronavirus. According to Nick Sargen of The Hill, Phase 2 has always been the most difficult phase of the deal. This is because there have reportedly been disputes over certain features of the agreement, including the volume of Chinese purchases of US agricultural goods. Before Mr.
Trump does not stop trade talks, Friday, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer hinted that the U.S. could again impose tariffs on China if enforcement mechanisms that require both sides to settle their differences during talks fail. When the U.S. and China ended their trade deal in January, both sides called the pact a first-phase agreement, which is expected to be followed by new negotiations for a more expansionary deal in the second and possibly third phases. U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he does not envision a second-phase trade deal with China at this stage, adding that the relationship between the world`s two largest economies is “severely damaged.” In mid-January, the United States and China signed a phase one trade deal that was an important step in a more than two-year trade war between two countries. The first phase of the trade deal reduces tariffs on $120 billion worth of goods, but most of the higher tariffs — which affect $360 billion on Chinese goods and U.S. exports worth more than $100 billion — remain in effect. This means that without the signing of the second phase of the agreement, Trump will not liberalize trade between the two countries until he is re-elected in November. President Trump on Friday tempered expectations of a promised second-phase trade pact with China and said relations between the countries had been too damaged by the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this year, after intense negotiations between the two countries, the Trump administration signed a mega-phase deal with China.
Trump`s failure to deliver on this key issue is unlikely to affect him in November. He can easily blame the coronavirus for disrupting his plans to liberalize trade between the U.S. and China.
