US-China trade talks grind to a halt

WASHINGTON (July 12): High-level trade talks between the US and China have ground to a halt as the Trump administration threatens to escalate a trade war that shows little sign of abating, according to five people familiar with the matter.

The countries held three rounds of formal negotiations since May, led by US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Vice Premier Liu He in China. But communications between senior members of the Trump and Xi administrations have petered out, and there’s no immediate plan to restart the formal talks, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deliberations aren’t public.

The diplomatic impasse makes it unlikely the two countries will stand down anytime soon from an intensifying trade war that is roiling financial markets and threatening the broadest global upswing in years. The Trump administration on Tuesday released a proposed list of an additional US$200 billion in Chinese goods to be hit with tariffs. China’s Commerce Ministry said the tariffs, which cover everything from refrigerators to handbags, are “totally unacceptable.”

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