Dec 31, 2020

China will miss phase one buying deadline

Posted Dec 31, 2020 5:00 PM

China is a long way from meeting the commitments in its trade deal with the U.S. Farm Progress Dot Com says the latest data shows the Southeast Asian nation has imported just over half the goods it promised to buy from America in the Phase One Trade Agreement.

Over the first 11 months of the year, China bought about 50.5 percent of the total 2020 target of $172 billion. That’s according to Bloomberg calculations based on figures from the U.S. Custom’s Administration.

The outlook for the trade deal is uncertain as a new administration prepares to take office in Washington, D.C. As of the end of November, data shows that China had bought 54 percent of targeted manufacturing products, 53 percent of agricultural goods, and 31 percent of the energy products.

Aggregate soybean imports reached $8.1 billion from January-November, compared with $10.2 billion in 2017. The trade deal says China’s imports of manufactured, agricultural, and energy goods in 2020 were to be no less than $32.9 billion, $12.5 billion, and $18.5 billion on top of 2017’s levels, putting the year’s targets at $110.4 billion, $36.6 billion, and $25.1 billion.