In Industry After Industry, China Isn’t Living Up To Trump’s Trade Deal
July 6, 2020
Trump said he’d get tough on China, but he didn’t. He got played. Despite Trump’s lies, China isn’t living up to the trade deal. China is tens of billions of dollars short in meeting its meager commitments in industry after industry.
$23 BILLION SHORT ON ENERGY: China has only purchased $2 billion of the $25 billion of U.S. energy they committed to purchasing in 2020.
Wall Street Journal: “The targets in the deal implied China would purchase around $25 billion of U.S. energy in 2020 and even more in 2021. The latest data on U.S. exports for the month of May, released on Thursday, show China has so far this year purchased only $2 billion of that sum, near the year’s midway point.”
$45 BILLION SHORT ON AGRICULTURE: China purchased only $5.4 billion in U.S. farm products — Trump promised they’d purchase $50 billion a year.
Wall Street Journal: “As of May, China had purchased $5.4 billion of agricultural goods, with a goal for the year of $33 billion in purchases. … Agricultural purchases are 39% of the pace needed to hit the phase one goal.”
$64 BILLION SHORT ON MANUFACTURING: China has only purchased just under $20 billion of the $84 billion in manufactured goods this year.
Wall Street Journal: “And China has purchased $19.5 billion of manufacturing goods, where the goal for the year is $84 billion. That puts manufactured goods at 56% of the pace needed to hit the goal, according to Mr. Bown’s calculations.”
$130 BILLION SHORT OVERALL: China is still $130 billion short of its trade deal commitments for 2020, and even behind pre-trade war levels.
Politico’s Doug Palmer: “U.S. goods exports to China for the first five months of 2020 totaled $40.2 billion, about 20 percent less than the same period in 2017, the monthly Commerce Department report showed, raising more questions about whether Beijing will meet the purchase goal in Trump’s trade deal.”