March 1, the end of a 90-day truce declared by United States (US) President Donald Trump in its trade war with China,  came  and went yesterday,   with  no  definite agreement between  the two nations.  But Trump’s statement   that he was taking no further step to increase US tariffs on Chinese goods pending  a meeting with China President Xi  Jinping  considerably raises hopes that the trade war is near its end.

The US had started the trade war early last July, 2018, when  it  slapped tariffs on $250  billion worth of  imports from China  and vowed to impose tariffs  on $267 billion  more. It accused China of unfair trade practices that had led to a huge trade surplus for China.  China  promptly  responded with its own tariffs on $110  billion in US goods.

After so many months of growing uncertainty that has affected world trade as a whole, the US and China  finally  agreed to hold talks  last month,  with President Trump agreeing to a truce until March 1. There was still no agreement yesterday, but  Trump cited “substantial progress” in the  talks and  said  he was delaying  a new increase in US tariffs on Chinese goods – from 10 to 25 percent -- scheduled for   that  day. He is due to meet with President Xi at his  estate in Florida, at  which a final  agreement is expected  to be announced.

 The delay in increased US tariffs was hailed as the clearest sign yet that agreement is near and the trade war that has affected not only US-China trade but also the entire world’s commerce and slowed global economic growth.

While  the trade war has so far had minimal impact on the Philippines, it is  bound to affect us  if it lasts much longer, as the US and China are today the world’s two biggest economies and they are among the  Philippines’  top trade partners.

The US today is involved in so many international issues. Trump is now in Vietnam  meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in talks aimed at ending the state of hostilities between their two nations  that has existed since  the 1950s. Just across the Carribean  from  Florida, violence has erupted in Venezuela, with Trump supporting a leader challenging Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro.   The US Congress  has announced  it will conduct an inquiry into alleged Russian  interference in the US presidential election of 2016.

The  Philippines  is  also closely following President Trump’s meeting with Kim Jong Un in Vietnam,  but it  is the developing prospect of a US-China agreement that now holds our  attention   for its direct effects on our own economic development and progress. We look forward to the coming summit meeting in Florida with the greatest  hopes and expectations.