The United States and China are Heading Towards an Unstable Truce on Trade
by Troy Stangarone [Former Senior Director at the Korea Economic Institute of America]
●The United States and China have agreed to a temporary 90-day pause in their escalating trade war, offering a narrow window to resolve trade tensions, though underlying policy disagreements and strategic competition remain unresolved.
●Efforts to reach a lasting agreement are complicated by unclear U.S. trade objectives, enforcement issues from previous deals, recent legal setbacks for the Trump administration, and China’s push for greater self-reliance in manufacturing.
●While both countries have short-term incentives to reach a deal, any agreement is likely to be unstable and partial, as it won’t fundamentally address structural issues like Chinese industrial policy or U.S. export controls.
