Pompeo Promises 'Significant Announcement' on US-China Trade Talks

STATE DEPARTMENT — 

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expressing optimism that trade talks with China aimed at ending tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of products will be successful.

"It's never over till it's over, but they've made a lot of progress, and so I'm very hopeful that in the coming days and weeks, there'll be a significant announcement," said Pompeo on Monday in an interview in Des Moines, Iowa.

The top U.S. diplomat is in Iowa to discuss diplomatic efforts to promote American economic interests and American exports.

Iowa's Farmers have been hit hard by the U.S.-China trade feud.

"President Trump has been determined to get Iowa farmers a fair shake, to stop the Chinese from stealing their intellectual property and denying them the ability to compete by selling products into China," said Pompeo in another radio interview.

China's agricultural imports from the U.S. have slumped since Beijing imposed tariffs on American agricultural products last year. Among the biggest losses for American farmers: oilseeds and grains exports, which are top agricultural products that Iowa farmers send to China.

Slamming China’s “protectionism, rule-breaking and state subsidies,” Pompeo called on China to embrace “free-market principles and fair competition.”

In his remarks to the Iowa Farm Bureau Monday evening, the chief American diplomat said: “China denies American companies access to its market through tariff barriers and non-tariff barriers, and deny us the ability to compete on a fair and reciprocal basis.”

In Beijing, ahead of the so-called “Twin Sessions" -- the annual meetings of the national legislature and the top political advisory body -- Chinese officials defended Beijing’s economic policies for facilitating the country’s growth and opening up in recent years. - Read More

Pompeo Promises 'Significant Announcement' on US-China Trade Talks