Business groups applauded Saturday’s announcement by the White House that it would delay imposition of higher tariffs on Chinese goods for at least 90 days.
The trade associations, who have opposed the imposition of the tariffs all along, said they were hopeful the delay could lead to a breakthrough in the ongoing trade war.
“The Business Roundtable is very encouraged by the result of this weekend’s talks between President Trump and President Xi. We are hopeful this will lead to both important reforms in China and a de-escalation in trade tensions between the U.S. and China,” said the group, which represents the heads of top corporations.
The Business Roundtable urged the administration to bring other trade partners into the talks, naming Japan and the European Union, to “seek sustained progress on these long-standing problems with China.”
Myron Brilliant, who is the executive vice president an head of international affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said that setting aside the tariffs was “the right course of action” and could lead to some meaningful reforms. “Negotiators on both sides now have a reasonable 90-day window to achieve meaningful outcomes in key areas of concern affecting U.S. businesses, such as IP theft, forced technology transfer, and market access,” he said.
The National Retail Federation commended the administration for deciding to “give diplomacy a chance” and said it was hopeful that the delay would lead to a resolution that would remove the need for tariffs altogether. “It is clear the administration has heard the voices of those negatively impacted by existing tariffs,” the group said in a statement.
President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping reached the agreement late Saturday at a closely watched dinner summit in Buenos Aires. Trump agreed to hold off on raising tariffs imposed on $200 billion worth Chinese imports to 25 percent, up from their current level of 10 percent. In exchange, China agreed to purchase an as-yet-unspecified “very substantial” amount of U.S. products to reduce the trade deficit.
“This was an amazing and productive meeting with unlimited possibilities for both the United States and China,” Trump said in a statement provided by the White House Saturday. “It is my great honor to be working with President Xi.”
