The Trump administration on Wednesday will resume negotiations with China toward ending a trade war that has deepened uncertainty for businesses and investors and dimmed the outlook for the global economy.
The two sides are to meet for the ninth time, with analysts expressing optimism that the world's two biggest economies might be near some kind of agreement. Negotiators met in Beijing last week in talks that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin described as "constructive."
Brilliant estimated that the two sides are 90% of the way to an agreement but cautioned that "the last 10% is the hardest part, the trickiest part."
Tensions have eased somewhat since President Donald Trump met Xi in Buenos Aires late last year and the administration ended up suspending its plans to raise tariffs on $200 billion of the Chinese imports to buy time for negotiations "We're making headway," Larry Kudlow, Trump's top economic adviser, said Tuesday, describing the talks as "a larger, grander discussion than anything we've ever had in U.S.-China relations."
"Stand firm" Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday. "Skip the political photo op and make good on your promise to stand up for American businesses and workers when China takes advantage."
Christopher Adams, a former China specialist at the Treasury Department and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative who is a senior adviser at the Covington & Burling law firm, added: "There has to be something substantive on the structural issues. Otherwise, the criticism will be severe."