The U.S. & China opened a ninth round of talks on April 3rd in hopes of finding a resolution and narrowing differences in the midst of an ongoing trade dispute.
The trade war has cast a sense of uncertainty over the Illinois natural gas and soybean markets. This began when President Trump imposed $250 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods to shorten the international trade deficit, which hit a record with China last year at $379 billion.
Illinois 18th District Congressman Darin LaHood says the time for a trade deal is needed right now for Illinois.
“Twenty five percent of the corn and soybeans grown in Illinois go to China. These tariffs and the retaliation by the Chinese have hurt. This trade war is not good long term for our farmers. I’m hopeful that the president will announce a meeting with Xi Jinping sooner rather than later,” Lahood said. LaHood went on to express his concerns about China stealing intellectual property in regards to new technology.
LaHood says that holding China accountable to the agreements within the deal they sign will be the most important goal to reach in order to end the ongoing strife between the two nation’s back-and-forth battle with tariffs. “They have a history of signing trade agreements and not complying with them or the enforcement mechanism they don’t abide by. We’re trying to structurally change China so they abide by the same rules that everyone else does.”
President Trump has stated that a summit meeting between he and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping will be announced once the formal deal is signed and completed.