The Secretary of Agriculture says it remains to be seen if the coronavirus will have an impact of the Phase One trade deal.
Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue says he’s unaware of any official requests from China on flexibility for their Phase One purchase obligations. “Although I’m not surprised,” he says. “I think we would be asking the same thing. These are some pretty hard-line numbers and enforceability provisions.”
He says they hope the virus is contained quickly, but this is a situation where an exception might be warranted. “As long as they are legitimately trying hard to comply with those numbers and we don’t see evidence that they’re just shifting purchases to other places,” he says. “China imports a lot of stuff. They have a lot of room those goals that we’ve set out there and they’ve agreed to.”
Perdue made his remarks at the 2020 Cattle Industry Convention in San Antonio, Texas.
Continue reading Coronavirus impact on Phase One purchases remains unclear at Brownfield Ag News.
