Trade war: trump hopes to seal trade deal with china at g20 talks


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The world’s two biggest economies have been slapping tariffs on each other goods since the summer with Donald Trump demanding major changes from Beijing on market access and intellectual


property protections for US companies, the industrial subsidies it offers to domestic interests and the $375bn trade gap. Mr Trump said: "I can say this, China wants to make a deal very


badly - because of the tariffs. China wants to make a deal. If we can make a deal, we will." Analysts have warned the trade war between could ease off in the coming months but will not


be fully resolved until US presidential elections in 2020. Steve Brice, chief investment strategist at Standard Chartered Private Bank, said any decision to resolve tensions with Beijing


will be driven by politics. He said: “I think it's going to be a political decision: Does it actually bode well for the US having solved, in Trump terminology, the China trade issue


today? “One could argue that actually, he'd be better doing that six months before the elections so he's got the tailwind going into his re-election bid.” Mr Trump and his Chinese


counterpart Xi Jinping are expected to discuss trade at the G-20 summit in Argentina next week but experts are not expecting major progress. Mr Brice said: “You might see a temporary hiatus


but then when you get closer to the presidential elections, then this flares back up and then we'll see tensions rising again.” And US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has played down the


likelihood of a breakthrough and said the US still plans to increase tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese exports on New Year’s Day. The World Trade Organisation has revealed tariff


measures imposed by G20 countries have reached record highs and now cover $481 billion worth of global trade. A report published ahead of next week summit said member states had added 40


trade-restricting measures since mid-May, compared with 39 during the preceding six months. WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said: “Further escalation remains a real threat. “If we


continue along the current course, the economic risks will increase, with potential effects for growth, jobs and consumer prices around the world.”