US-China trade deal negotiations hit another snag

President Donald Trump was supposed to sign a partial trade deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week, but negotiations over the final text have reached a rough patch, according to people familiar with the matter.

It’s not clear when a final text will be ready for the two men to sign.

The planned signing of the deal in Chile was scrapped last month because of protests in the country. In the last several days, the two sides have found themselves at odds over the finer details of an agreement that Trump announced in principle last month from the Oval Office.

The details in question include the size of Chinese agricultural purchases from the United States, which Trump has touted as a boon to American farmers. China has been resistant at including a number for their purchase commitment, even though Trump said it would be between $40 and $50 billion.

The two sides have also failed to reach agreement on the level of tariff relief if a deal is struck. And there remain wide gaps on the language included in the deal on intellectual property protections and forced technology transfer, which have been main US demands on China as the deal progresses.

The disputes have led to questions of when the deal might be ready to sign. Trump has said he will only agree to a good deal, and is content keeping tariffs in place.

Last week, Trump said the United States has yet to agree to roll back billions of dollars in tariffs.

The ongoing trade war has been marked by a series of tit-for-tat tariffs, rattling markets and depressing business investment — a major drag on the US economy.

China’s growth dropped last quarter to its lowest level in nearly three decades, as the world’s second largest economy continues to feel the pain from the trade war with the United States.