Opinion: U.S.-China trade agreement strikes a healthy compromise

Two pieces of paper. Two signatures. Two changing powerhouse economies.

The new U.S.-China trade agreement is through its first phase.

Though the details began under lock and key after the initial announcement in December, the release of the full document – January 15 according to NBC – reveals that it may contain more benefits for the U.S. than expected.

Although far from perfect, the new trade agreement strikes a healthy and promising compromise between two countries frequently at economic odds. 

The most notable change lies in the exportation of U.S. goods to China.

The New York Times reported that China agreed to purchase an additional $200 billion worth of American goods and service by the year 2021. This buying power splits itself between energy, agriculture, manufactured goods, and services.

Although this cannot help the American economy forever, the extra exports will hopefully aid and support American farmers and business owners for the foreseeable future.

However, the agreement only specifies the next two years. The “trajectory” is expected to continue into the year 2025, but no specific plan is outlined in the agreement. The hope lies with China continuing to buy either the same amount of American goods or even more in the coming years.

The second notable change is the protection of intellectual property rights.

In the past, Chinese government officials would sometimes force American companies to hand over their intellectual property rights when the companies applied for operational licenses in China. Furthermore, in order to proceed to a criminal trial for intellectual property violations, the victimized companies had to prove that the theft resulted in losses for their company.

The Federalist reported the Chinese will actually bear the brunt of the responsibility in this section of the agreement.

The agreement lists how the Chinese will be held accountable by prohibiting the disclosure of trade secrets at any level of government and in any sort of court proceedings.

Like any good compromise, the agreement benefits China as well.

The U.S. will lower tariffs of Chinese goods on certain imports. Fox News listed the imports with lowered tariffs, including certain clothing, food items, and commodities.

Though the prospects for the agreement look good, not everyone is singing its praises.

The Washington Post wrote that if President Trump had not significantly raised tariffs in the summer of 2018, then China would have already spent most of what they promise now.

Even if that were true, there is nothing Trump can do now except make amends, which might be this new deal.

An additional, unrelated benefit is the improving relations between the U.S. and China.

After the summer of 2018, some became skeptical that relations would improve between the two super-economies, but this deal is a step in the right direction. While not everything is dandelions and daisies, the deal shows that the two countries are at least talking and communicating with each other. That’s a lot more than could be said a year ago.

Phase one of this deal shows promise. It shows a desire for better relations between the U.S. and China both economically and politically. The next phases have a potential to repair what was broken and turn economical enemies into allies.

Sobnosky is an opinion writer. Follow her on Twitter.

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