Trump vs Biden Policies 2020: Where Do They Stand on Key Issues?

US and China signed Phase 1 in January, less than two months before the pandemic put an enormous strain on US-China relations.

Trump says Phase 1 led to China buying roughly $200 billion over two years in US agricultural products, energy and other American products.

In return, the US canceled planned US tariffs on Chinese-made smartphones, toys and laptop computers.

Read also: UK Resumes US Trade Talks on September 8

The US also cut in half, to 7.5 percent, the tariff rate levied on $120 billion in other China imports.

Phase 2 of the deal is expected to focus on some tougher issues between the countries, including Trump’s wish to get China to stop subsidizing its state-owned enterprises.

But for Trump, who has come to frequently refer to the coronavirus as the “China virus”, it remains to be seen whether he will be able to effectively reengage Beijing on trade.

Trump recently said he’s currently “not interested” in talking to China.

Biden has joined a growing bipartisan embrace of “fair trade” abroad — a twist on decades of “free trade” talk as Republican and Democratic administrations alike expanded international trade.

Joe Biden wants to juice US manufacturing by directing $400 billion of federal government purchases to domestic firms (part of that for buying pandemic supplies) over a four-year term.