Why this is important to Wisconsin businesses: The plan includes several measures to improve the trade and economic relationship between the two countries.
U.S. President Trump and Chinese President Xi ended their first summit in April with an agreement to a 100-day plan to address U.S.-China trade issues. During the 100 days, which extends through mid-July this year, both the U.S. and China are proposing ideas to improve the trade and economic relationship between the two countries.
Within approximately one month after the summit, the two sides reached consensus on addressing issues in areas including agricultural trade, financial services, investment and energy.
The 10-part deal is the first result of the 100-day action plan that President Xi and President Trump agreed to pursue at their meeting. Some highlights are that China will allow imports of U.S. beef, while the U.S. will import poultry from China. The U. S. expects China and other partners to import liquefied natural gas, and China will allow wholly foreign-funded financial services to provide credit ratings in China.
Under the deal announced by the Trump Administration on May 11, China agreed to resume imports of U.S. beef by July 16.
The agreement would also streamline the evaluation of pending U.S. biotechnology product applications. In the energy sector, the U.S. already is shipping some liquefied natural gas to China and said it could negotiate any type of contract, including long-term contracts, with U.S. suppliers. In financial services, China pledged to grant market access to U.S. credit rating agencies and credit card companies and agreed to issue licenses to "two qualified U.S. financial institutions" for the interbank bond underwriting and settlement business.
Most of the agreements are expected to be implemented by July 16. The two sides also agreed to discuss extending the initial 100-day action plan to a one-year plan.
In announcing the agreement on the evening of May 11, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said, "U.S.-China relationships are now hitting a new high, especially in trade."