There is no Agreement for Future Reduction in Tariffs between the US and China

The United States and China have no agreement on further tariff reductions, world agencies said.

"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," said a joint statement from US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative in the negotiations Robert Lighthizer.

Mnuchin later told reporters that the US would maintain customs duties on Chinese goods until the second part of the deal was completed. "These tariffs will stay in place until there's a phase two. If the president gets a phase two quickly, he'll consider releasing tariffs as part of phase two," Mnuchin said. "If not, there won't be any tariff relief. So it has nothing to do with the election or anything else. There's no secret agreements", said the US Treasury chief.

Donald Trump said on December 31 that the first part of a trade deal with China would be signed on January 15 at the White House. The Vice-Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Liu has already arrived in Washington. After signing, the parties will immediately start negotiations on the second part of the deal.

As part of the phase-one agreement, China said it would tighten intellectual property rules, increase agricultural purchases and open up its financial sector, Markets Insider reported.

In return, the Trump administration agreed to cut a 15% tariff rate in half for $110 billion worth of products targeted in September and delay planned escalations. The tariff rates of other tranches, with a total trade value of roughly $250 billion, will remain the same.