Earlier today, Andy joined Cheddar to discuss the negotiations set to resume between China and the U.S. Andy notes that despite negativity and talks of this possibly taking years, he remains optimistic and thinks a deal will be reached sooner than people think.
When asked why he felt strongly about an agreement being reached in the near future, Andy noted that the big reasons are: “The drag on the Chinese economy right now, exports being down, and [China’s] GDP growth slowing…GDP per capita is about $10,000, in the U.S. it is $62,000.” He went on to point out that the Chinese know this issue and want economic growth which is why a deal can be made soon. “You don’t grow by offending your largest customer and in this case, we are their largest customer. I think the Chinese want a deal, the president wants a deal… and we’ll have one sooner than people are expecting…but we need to get the right deal and if it takes a little longer to do it, it takes a little longer to do it- that is what negotiating is all about.”
When asked what would constitute a good deal, Andy notes that the Chinese must have accountability and the U.S. must be able to enforce the agreements made. “The Chinese need to understand…this president is a new sheriff – there’s a new sheriff in town – and he actually is more concerned about getting a good deal than he is about the politics of it which is why we didn’t have a deal before the midterm elections,” argued Andy. “If it was all political, we would have had a deal in September…the Republicans would have tried to use that to get elected…that didn’t happen and it’s because our president is negotiating for the best deal he can possibly get.”
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