A Blast from the Past: The Trade Deal Silence
United States inks trade deal with China, according to President Trump
Remember the good old days when Donald Trump was still the US President? While scrolling through the memories, we stumbled upon an interesting tidbit from June 2020. President Trump declared a trade agreement with China... but with no details released!
During a White House event showcasing a government spending bill, Trump dropped this bomb, according to various news agencies. However, fast forward to today, Saturday, June 28, 2025, there's no recent record of such a deal. As Trump has been out of office since January 2021, we're assuming it must have been an oldie but a goodie from his reign.
One deal that stands out from his presidency is the Phase One trade deal he signed with China in January 2020. Here's a quick rundown:
Phase One Trade Deal Between U.S. and China (January 2020)
Background
- Signed to ease the U.S.-China trade war that kicked off in 2018.
- Focused on trade imbalances, intellectual property, technology transfer, and agricultural product purchases.
Key Details
- China pledged to boost purchases of US goods and services by at least $200 billion over two years (compared to 2017 levels):
- Agriculture products like soybeans, wheat, corn, and pork
- Energy products such as natural gas and crude oil
- Manufactured goods and services
- Expanded intellectual property protections against theft and forced technology transfer.
- Currency practices were addressed, with China promising no competitive devaluation.
- Both sides agreed to reduce some tariffs scheduled to take effect.
- Mechanisms for dispute resolution to address implementation issues.
Impact
- Represented a de-escalation move, but many contentious issues remained unresolved.
- Tariffs stayed on many products, and comprehensive trade tensions continued post-deal.
Of course, if you have more context about the announcement you're curious about, just let me know, and I'll help you dive deeper! For now, lets relive the tense yet thrilling era of the trade war while we wait for more exciting updates.
The revelation from June 2020 about a potential trade agreement between the US and China, announced by then-President Donald Trump, evokes memories of the policy-and-legislation landscape during his presidency. In retrospect, the Phase One trade deal signed with China in January 2020, which focused on trade imbalances, intellectual property, and agriculture product purchases, seems to have been a significant diplomatic maneuver in the ongoing struggle of the US with China in the realm of politics and general news.
