China’s failure to purchase enough U.S. exports under the flawed “phase one” trade deal is cause for celebration.
CHICAGO – Two years ago, in an attempt to end their deepening trade war, the United States and China signed an agreement in which China promised to purchase an additional $200 billion worth of U.S. goods and services in 2020 and 2021, relative to 2017 levels. That implied a total purchase commitment of $502.4 billion over the two-year period. In the end, China bought only 57% of the U.S. exports that it had promised to buy, or $288.8 billion, and thus purchased none of the extra $200 billion.
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