US, China negotiators meet in Stockholm to extend trade truce

Calgary Herald

5 hours ago

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While China has denied its responsibility for the flow of the deadly drug, last month it tightened controls over two chemicals that can be used to make the opioid. Earlier this month, Trump praised those moves. 'China has been helping out,' he told reporters. 'We're talking to them and they're making big steps.'
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For the US, the recent Chinese actions aren't enough, as such moves were required to comply with United Nations measures, according to a person familiar with the trade talks. Chances of reducing the 20% tariff in this round of talks are very slim, added the person who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive matters, while noting everything could change on Trump's whim.
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China would be willing to cooperate more on fentanyl, said Sun Chenghao, a professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing. But the US would have to remove the related tariffs, stop blaming Beijing for what it sees as a US domestic problem and provide concrete evidence of crimes, he said.
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The US business community remains hopeful for progress, with Sean Stein, president of the US-China Business Council, telling Bloomberg TV that movement on fentanyl presents the 'biggest opportunity' in talks.
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'That then lowers tariffs on the US side, which then opens the door for China to lower tariffs that lets us sell agriculture, lets us sell airplanes, lets us sell automobiles, that let's us sell energy,' he said.
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Oil Purchases
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In his comments announcing the talks, Bessent indicated negotiations can now take on a broader array of topics, potentially including Beijing's continued purchases of sanctioned oil from Russia and Iran.
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Chinese state media has already pushed back against that idea. 'China won't play along' with such attempts to use China to kill Russia's economy, Lv Xiang, a US expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences last week told the state-run tabloid Global Times.
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By contrast, China's imports of three major energy products from the US hit almost zero in June, marking the first time in almost three years the Asian nation didn't import any crude oil from its top rival. Deliveries of American crude oil, liquefied natural gas and coal have been subject to Chinese tariffs of 10% to 15% since February.
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Xi's government has begun rolling back some of its other retaliatory measures since the two sides met last month in London. Crucially, Beijing has boosted shipments of rare earth magnets, while the US relaxed restrictions on sales of less-advanced semiconductors to China.
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In another potential goodwill gesture, as the Sweden talks were announced this month, China revealed it had suspended an antitrust investigation into the local unit of US chemical manufacturer DuPont de Nemours Inc.