US President Donald Trump has announced the arrival of a so-called first-stage trade agreement with China, under which Washington will suspend the imposition of customs duties on Chinese imports that were due to take effect on Sunday.
Trump said in a tweet on Twitter that the first stage of the trade agreement had been agreed with China, and that the previously imposed tariffs of 25% would remain, but the newly imposed fees would not apply.
This agreement comes to suspend the imposition of customs duties on Chinese imports valued at $ 160 billion, which were scheduled to take effect on Sunday.
Trump said that China has agreed to many structural changes and massive purchases of agricultural products, energy and manufactured goods, and confirmed that his country will reduce some of the tariffs already imposed on Chinese goods.
He noted that the United States will use the remaining tariffs on goods imported from China as a lever in negotiating the second phase of the agreement.
Trump told reporters at the White House that negotiators of the two countries would start work on the second phase of the agreement immediately, and not after the US presidential elections in 2020.
Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Wong Shuen announced that his country will increase its imports from the United States as part of the agreement.
He noted that the agreement also covers important areas for the United States, such as protecting intellectual property rights, and expanding market access for foreign companies in China.
The new developments come after 19 months of a fierce trade war between the two largest economies in the world.