A China-US Trade won’t Achieve Phase I-Agreement due to Covid-19 Disruption

China – U.S. trade deal might not meet its requirement of January-signed agreement as coronavirus pandemic has disrupted China’s purchases of U.S. products, according to the think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies forecast.

 

On January, China agreed to import U.S. goods in the amount of $186.6 billion, but the think tank expected it could come in at only $60 billion for all of 2020

 

The think tank forecast pictured a “worst-case scenario” because later in the year, Chinese economy could recover and the purchase of U.S. goods would rise accordingly despite any increases still “will not change the overall picture, just the details,”

 

The U.S. Commerce Department data showed on the first quarter of 2020, U.S. goods exports to China fell by 10% compared to a year earlier, which comprised of several factors, including the aftermath of coronavirus outbreak as energy exports were “perhaps the biggest disappointment”.

 

China committed to buy an additional $200 billion in U.S. products and services over two years, from the 2017 level. That means that U.S. goods and services exports to China should climb to around $290 billion in 2020 and $330 billion in 2021, according to the agreement released by the U.S. Trade Representative.