China Easing Agricultural Tariffs, Appears Ready to Negotiate

(SHANGHAI, CHINA) U.S. farmers and ranchers received good news from China on Friday as the country announced an easing of tariffs on imports of pork and soybeans. According to the official Xinhua News Agency, the move comes as Chinese buyers lined up for a significant purchase of U.S. soybeans for the first time since June – a sign that the two sides might be ready to talk again. The United States is delaying a tariff increase on certain Chinese goods in response and in front of lower-level talks next week in Washington. Senior trade negotiators are expected to pick up the ball in early October. Trump administration officials are pressing China to end practices it considers unfair, including intellectual property theft, illegal subsidies, currency manipulation, and forced technology transfers. The Epoch Times says meeting U.S. demands would require structural change in China, which so far it has been unwilling to make. The two sides came close to a deal in May, but Chinese officials balked at requirements that their laws be altered as part of the deal.