Our trade insiders weigh the fallout from the summit between President Trump and President Xi, where the good news was no real news: a truce extended through January 10, a Board of Trade announcement on $60 billion of non-sensitive goods for reduced tariffs, and new purchasing commitments on coal. The panel considers how Europe views the US-China outcomes as Turnberry implementation talks begin; Sefcovic heads to Beijing; and ministers weigh a quicker type of trade enforcement instrument. Our podcasters then examine the plurilateral steel framework from the G20 Trade Minister meeting, with a focus on excess capacity and transshipment, and ask whether it is compatible with the loudly ticking Russia sanctions clock and the China truce. The panelists then turn to skeptical questions from the Court of International Trade on the forced labor 301, the delayed excess capacity 301s as APEC and the midterms approach, and the cutoff of iced wine, three-wheeled vehicles, whey and dairy derivatives from Canada. They close on whether Congress can reassert control over tariffs after the midterms, and whether working with allies and stability with China can coexist before the two tracks cross.

Featured Speakers:

Wendy Cutler, Senior Vice President, Asia Society Policy Institute; former Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative

Blake Harden, Managing Director, Washington Council Ernst & Young; previously served as Trade Counsel on the House Ways & Means Committee; and in the office of the Chief Counsel at U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Daniel Mullaney, Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council; former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the Middle East

Moderator: Ed Gresser, Vice President & Director for Trade & Global Markets, Progressive Policy Institute; former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Trade Policy and Economics – author of the Trade Fact of the Week