(16 December 2019)DAILY MARKET BRIEF 2: Lighthizer Touts a Week of Deals

The U.S.-China trade deal marks a step toward integrating two economic systems, capping an important week for American trade policy, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said. Mr. Lighthizer, President Trump's lead trade negotiator, on Sunday also praised the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement the House of Representatives is expected to approve this week. "It was extremely momentous and indicative of where we're going, what this president has accomplished," Mr. Lighthizer said of advances in the two trade negotiations. Mr. Lighthizer, appearing on CBS, described the China deal as encompassing more than agriculture, saying it has real enforcement mechanisms and provisions that address currency and financial services. But the limited deal leaves many disputed issues to later negotiations. Subsequent phases of U.S.-China talks will depend on how the first phase is implemented and enforced, he said. "It really is a remarkable agreement, but it's not going to solve all the problems," he said. "Whether this whole agreement works is going to be determined by who's making the decisions in China, not in the United States. If the hard-liners are making the decisions, we're going to get one outcome. If the reformers are making the decisions, which is what we hope, then we're going to get another outcome."

By Peter Rosenstreich