Dec 17, 2019

NRF welcomes phase one of China trade deal

Retailers call China trade announcement ‘right direction’ but say a final deal is needed. The National Retail Federation (NRF) welcomed news that the United States and China have agreed on a “phase one” trade deal.

“For the first time in months, the United States and China are moving in the right direction on tariffs, and we congratulate negotiators from both sides for the progress they have made,” said David French, senior vice president for government relations with NRF. “Tariffs create uncertainty and costs for American retail supply chains, and the trade war won’t be over until they are eliminated completely. We agree that we need to realign our relationship with China, but tariffs that harm American businesses, workers and consumers are not the answer and cannot be allowed to continue.”

The expected signing comes after NRF and other members of the Americans for Free Trade coalition sent President Trump a letter on Wednesday asking that tariffs that were set to take effect on Sunday be suspended.

Reports indicate that the agreement cancels those tariffs and will reduce tariffs that took effect in September but that earlier tariffs will remain in effect.

The letter called for “a final deal that not only addresses our key concerns with the U.S.-China trade relationship but also eliminates the current tariffs imposed on both goods sourced from China and our goods exported to the critically important China market.”