US, China discuss tariff cuts and farm imports ahead of APEC

The United States and China held the first meeting of their Trade Council on Friday, Nov. 13, by videoconference to discuss tariff cuts, agricultural trade and other trade issues. China’s Commerce Ministry said the talks were open, in-depth and constructive, including discussion of the reciprocal tariff reduction scheme of “US$30 billion for US$30 billion.” Beijing did not say whether any agreement was reached. The meeting came days before Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Shenzhen. After the two presidents met in September in Washington, the two countries proposed a US$60 billion package of tariff cuts, but the plan has not been finalized.