We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » U.S.-China trade expert: Don't expect resolution of trade dispute any time soon
newsworthy

U.S.-China trade expert: Don't expect resolution of trade dispute any time soon

November 15, 2019
Toby Gooley
No Comments

Amy P. CelicoAlthough the United States and China have announced that their leaders hope to sign a "Phase 1" agreement that would take first steps toward resolving their ongoing trade dispute, the two sides remain far apart in their expectations of what that agreement would accomplish. 

That's not surprising, given that the U.S. and China have different objectives, according to Amy P. Celico, principal at the strategic advisory and commercial diplomacy firm Albright Stonebridge Group. Celico, a former U.S. diplomat in China and senior director for China affairs in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, discussed the two countries' approaches to negotiations at the Coalition of New England Companies for Trade's 18th Annual Northeast Cargo Symposium in Providence, R.I., earlier this month.  

Celico explained that, in a nutshell, China wants the U.S. to cancel tariffs on such items as cell phones, laptops, and children's toys that are scheduled to go into effect on Dec. 15, and to roll back tariffs that went into effect earlier this year. The U.S. wants China to address trade barriers surrounding intellectual property, business subsidies, currency valuation, and other issues it considers to be unfair to U.S. business or in violation of World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. U.S. officials have said they have not made any commitments to cancel tariffs, despite China's assertion to the contrary.

Both President Trump and China's President Xi want an interim deal, Celico said, but even if they sign it, that agreement is not likely to "get at the heart of the issues" between the trading partners. Those will probably be dealt with in a "Phase 2" negotiation sometime in the future, she added.

The U.S. approach of imposing successive tranches of tariffs on Chinese goods has "brought China to the table to negotiate in a more meaningful way" than in the past, Celico said. But what she termed a "fundamental misalignment of reality" between Beijing and Washington could hold back progress on any deal, as each side thinks it has more power to make the other side change, she said. China does not want to bend to U.S. pressure to change its economic structure and is willing to wait out the dispute; Celico said she believes China thinks that if it just buys more U.S. agricultural products, then the U.S. will "cave." The U.S. perspective, meanwhile, is that China will have to give in to keep its economy growing, and that the strong U.S. economy will allow the United States to stand its ground, she said. 

Although the trade dispute and the impact of tariffs on U.S. businesses are understandably the big story right now, more is at stake in a world where the U.S. and China have long been "the twin propellers of global growth," Celico cautioned. Xi believes China "should make the rules, and not take direction from others, and both countries are essentially rewriting global trade rules without involving other participants," she observed, saying that may not be a successful strategy. It will be hard for China to be as aggressive as Xi wants to be unless it makes more "friends" among other nations, and if the U.S. isn't "more active in restoring its alliances" it will find it difficult to compete globally with China, she said.

Global Logistics
KEYWORDS Albright Stonebridge Group Coalition of New England Companies for Trade (CONECT)
  • Related Articles

    U.S.-Mexico trade relations to survive Trump's anti-trade rhetoric, Mexican official says

    A trade expert's take on what's brewing in Washington

    China and U.S. face “reckoning” over trade disruptions in 2021

Contributing Editor Toby Gooley is a writer and editor specializing in supply chain, logistics, and material handling, and a lecturer at MIT's Center for Transportation & Logistics. She previously was Senior Editor at DC VELOCITY and Editor of DCV's sister publication, CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly. Prior to joining AGiLE Business Media in 2007, she spent 20 years at Logistics Management magazine as Managing Editor and Senior Editor covering international trade and transportation. Prior to that she was an export traffic manager for 10 years. She holds a B.A. in Asian Studies from Cornell University.

Recent Articles by Toby Gooley

Better together

Rightsizing your forklift fleet in uncertain times

National Forklift Safety Day 2020 focuses on safety best practices

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Cold chain giant Lineage Logistics buys its own rail operator

  • Outlook 2021: What’s in store for logistics supply chain?

  • Cushman & Wakefield Brokers Sale of 170 Acres plus Lease for 1MSF Build-to-Suit for Home Improvement Retailer in Commerce City, CO.

  • Thriving in the long haul: interview with Colin Yankee

  • Capacity challenges will continue in 2021

Now Playing on DCV-TV

2mw 01 18 21 thumb

LTL Carriers Using Yield Management Techniques to Identify New Accessorial Charges

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
As we head into 2021, shippers are not too optimistic about negotiating rates with their carriers. The reason for this, as highlighted in the three CODE RED Webcasts we've hosted with our friends from CSCMP and NASSTRAC, is that in today's transportation marketplace, shippers are operating in uncharted waters. With...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Proven Benefits: A Compendium of Slotting Optimization Success Snapshots

  • Bridging Information Gaps in Dock and Yard Operations

  • How Intelligent Sensor Solutions Turn Data Into Action

  • Order picking Solutions: Understanding Your Options

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing