US officials have considered lifting tariffs on Chinese imports to calm volatile stock markets and encourage Beijing to make concessions in current trade talks, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

American and Chinese trade officials have until March 1 to resolve their trade war, to prevent a sharp increase in punitive US duties on $200 billion in Chinese goods.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin raised the idea of revoking tariffs on some or all of the $250 billion in Chinese goods impacted, during discussions on the strategy for the current talks but the question has not yet reached the White House, according to The Journal.

The US stock market reacted favorably to the report, with equities prices closing higher after being flat for most of the day.

The talks with Beijing are being led by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who has taken a more hard line position on trade than Mnuchin.

The Treasury Department told AFP on that the trade talks with China were "nowhere near completion."

"Neither Secretary Mnuchin nor Ambassador Lighthizer have made any recommendations to anyone with respect to tariffs or other parts of the negotiation with China," a spokesperson working with the trade team said by email.

CNBC quoted a senior White House official involved in the trade talks saying that Trump had no incentive to offer concessions, and officials instead were focused on preparations for talks with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He set for January 30-31 in Washington.

US President Donald Trump tweeted January 8 that the talks with Beijing were "going very well!"

But the trade war has rattled stock markets in the months since, putting pressure on the White House to reach a resolution.

Trump launched the trade war last year and the two sides have since exchanged tit-for-tat tariffs on more than $360 billion in two-way trade.

Related Links
Global Trade News

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

China firm completes $1.4bn Sri Lanka land reclamation
Colombo (AFP) Jan 16, 2019
A Chinese state-owned company marked on Wednesday the completion of an ambitious land reclamation adjacent to Sri Lanka's capital Colombo, part of Beijing's "Belt and Road" infrastructure initiative that has alarmed India and the West. "Colombo Port City is an important project of the One Belt, One Road initiative in Sri Lanka, which is one of the key countries along the maritime silk route," China's ambassador Cheng Xueyuan said at a ceremony. "No matter how the international situation changes, ... read more