China claims tariffs will go, but others express doubts

WASHINGTON: Beijing’s announcement Thursday that the U.S. and China have mutually agreed to roll back tariffs as part of a “phase one” trade accord lifted financial markets, but questions remained over how much ground—if any —the Trump administration had agreed to give.

Neither the White House nor the U.S. trade representative issued a public response to China’s statement, and there were conflicting reports from within the Trump administration as to whether there was a firm commitment to reduce tariffs.