New York Times report
The New York Times says Chinese negotiators are preparing to offer the US a package that approaches the $200 billion in trade concessions the Trump administration is after.
Meetings are taking place today and the NYT says "China is expected to pledge to reduce that gap by purchasing substantially more American agricultural products, including soybeans, as well as semiconductors and natural gas" along with opening up the banking and insurance sectors.
Critics are quick to poke holes in the possibility of closing the trade deficit this way. The US already exports all its excess energy but that will grow as production grows but it has nothing to do with China because it's something in demand globally. As for agriculture, if it all goes to China that would decrease the US deficit with them but increase it elsewhere. Total soybean exports were $22 billion with $12 billion already going to China. Energy and semiconductors can grow but maybe $5-10 billion total.
----------
