BEIJING, CHINA – As agricultural trade remains strong, commitments made during the Phase One Economic and Trade Agreement between the U.S. and China last year are still below the mark.
According to the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), China agreed to expand purchases of certain goods and services from the United States by a combined level of $200 billion over two years.
In 2020, China missed the mark both in agriculture and the general agreement. Despite increased purchases in the first year of the agreement, China’s only reached 82 percent of the agreement. So far this year, Chinese purchases total 84 percent of the year-to-date commitments in agriculture and 69 percent of the annual commitments to the general economy.
The Phase One deal expires next February and as of today, the Biden Administration has not publicly talked about negotiating a new agreement, or renewing the current agreement. Unlike free trade agreements, this trade pact with the second-largest economy in the world was not a free-trade agreement (FTA) so it did not require the approval of Congress.
(SOURCE: All Ag News)