The United States and China are set to relaunch trade talks this week... after two months of downtime.
The Trump administration has also said it will exempt a number of Chinese products from hefty tariffs,... offering relief to some American firms,... which have said the taxes harm their bottom lines.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
The world's two biggest economies will finally resume trade talks following a two-month hiatus.
This comes as Larry Kudlow,... the director of the National Economic Council of the U.S., and an top economic advisor to President Trump said last week,... that a face-to-face meeting was "on the cards."
Reuters reported Tuesday that negotiations would start as early as this week,... with a phone call between U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.
The resumption of talks comes after the leaders of the two countries met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Japan last month,... where Trump agreed to suspend a new round of tariffs on 300 billion dollars worth of imported Chinese goods, while the two sides resumed negotiations.
Hoping to further improve trade relations,... the Trump administration agreed to exempt 110 Chinese products, from medical equipment to key capacitors, from hefty tariffs.
The exemptions will also offer some relief to American firms, which say the taxes harmed their business.
Plus, in a surprise announcement Tuesday,... U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Washington will issue licenses to American companies seeking to sell goods to China's telecoms giant Huawei,... so long as the sales pose no threat to U.S. national security.
However, industry observers say the announcement failed to answer which products would meet the standard.
In May,... Huawei was placed on the U.S. Commerce Department's so-called Entity List amid concerns it was spying for the Chinese government.
U.S. parts and components generally cannot be sold to those on the list without special licenses.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.