A day before the US and China are to sign the phase one trade deal, US Treasury Secretary raised worries in the markets when he stated that the US was likely to keep tariffs on Chinese imports in place until the phase two of the trade deal was finalized. The recent optimism surrounding the signing of the phase one deal got dented over concerns that it may have little positive impact on dissipating trade tensions as a result.

A joint statement released by Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on the issue read, “There are no other oral or written agreements between the United States and China on these matters, and there is no agreement for future reduction in tariffs. Any rumours to the contrary are categorically false.”

Meanwhile, analysts are also skeptical about how China will manage to increase its imports of US goods by around $80 billion over the next two years – a crucial aspect of the interim trade deal. China is supposed to commit to importing an additional $50 billion worth of energy supplies and an additional $35 billion worth of services from the US in the next two years as part of the agreement to be signed today.

Overall imports of US goods and services, including agricultural goods, totals up to more than $200 billion over the next two years, a figure that sounds unrealistic as far as some trade experts are concerned. Details of the phase one agreement will only be revealed after the signing ceremony, so we’ll have to wait and keep an eye out for this for more details!