AGRICULTURE/CHINA/TARIFFS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump said late Friday [3-1-19] that he has asked China to remove its tariffs on U.S. agricultural exports as the two countries work on reaching a broader trade agreement addressing Beijing‘s trade practices…Trump had been promising to ratchet up tariffs on billions worth of Chinese imports on March 1, but dropped the threat in a tweet on Sunday after he said talks has sufficiently progressed…He said that a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping could happen later this month to finalize a deal to address U.S. allegations that Chinese industrial policies force U.S. companies to transfer technology to do business there. The administration and companies have also accused China of steal intellectual property. Access to one of the top export markets for U.S. farm goods has been a key aspect of the negotiations. China‘s retaliation against U.S. tariffs has hit American farmers of soybeans and other commodities. The USDA’s most recent forecast shows that the trade standoff between the two countries has severely hurt U.S. farm exports to China.”
–Adam Behsudi, “Trump demands removal of China’s agriculture tariffs,” Politico, March 1, 2019 7:18 pm