China and the U.S. have reached a tentative agreement on enforcement of a potential trade agreement between the two nations. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Friday the mechanism blocks Beijing from retaliating if the U.S. implements tariffs on Chinese products because China violated the terms of an eventual agreement, according to Politico.
Seemingly, that means U.S. agricultural products would be protected from retaliation, like seen in the tit-for-tat trade war, if true. China targeted U.S. agricultural products such as pork and soybeans as part of its response to the massive list of U.S. tariffs placed on China by the Trump administration. The two sides appear to be inching closer to reach some sort of agreement.
The agreement though, won’t come this month, as previously thought. The administration says a summit between the U.S. and China will not happen at the end of March as more work is needed in the negotiations. That meeting may now be postponed until June.
Also, while China may agree to enforcement measures, the adage of “say one thing, do another,” applies, as many market experts will caution that China has a history of ignoring previously agreed trade rules.