United States trade negotiators will make the trek back to China starting February 11 to participate in high-level talks ahead of the March 1 tariffs truce deadline.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will take part in principal-level meetings in Beijing with Chinese counterparts on February 14 and 15, President Donald Trump announced Friday. Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish will lead advance deputy-level talks beginning February 11, ahead of Lighthizer and Mnuchin’s arrival.
Joining the official trade delegation are:
United States Trade Representative Chief Agricultural Negotiator Gregg Doud
Department of the Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs David Malpass
Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney
Department of Commerce Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Gilbert Kaplan
Deputy Director of the National Economic Council and Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs Clete Willems
Department of Energy Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg
Senior White House; USTR; and State, Treasury, Agriculture, Commerce, and Energy Department officials will travel with the delegation.
President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met at the G20 in Argentina on December 1 and agreed to a 90-day tariffs truce and focused trade negotiations. China further agreed to resume increased levels of U.S. commodities purchases, such as soybeans. The two nations have been locked in a pattern of tariffs and trade responses, with the U.S. issuing tariffs and calling for a halt in Chinese theft of U.S. intellectual property and China issuing retaliatory tariffs.
Michelle Moons is a White House Correspondent for Breitbart News — follow on Twitter @MichelleDiana and Facebook.