Trump and China sign Phase One deal.
"What's in it?"
We don't know. The text was not released before signing.
"What's supposed to be in it?"
Sources say that China could purchase $50 billion in ag goods --
"AHAH! So you were wrong!"
-- over
two years. Not one. In other words, due to inflation, about what they were buying pre-Trump. The amount China spent in 2012, $25.9 billion, adjusted to 2020 would be $30.3 billion. Trump's "historic" result is worse than Obama did without enacting the largest tax increase on Americans ever.
"But..but...it will remove those tariffs!"
Apparently not. The new ones that were threatened won't be applied, but some are reduced and some remain in place at full value.
"...doesn't this mean those billions Trump claims he's getting from China are down?"
Well, if he lived in the real world, yes. Expect Trump to say that lowering the tariffs, which he said were winning, was winning. Remember, Trump tries to make every single thing he ever does the best bestiest best. You can't say that, while backtracking, without being a hypocrite.
"But at least the Phase One deal prevents all new tariffs."
Fuck, no. Mnuchin himself personally said that Trump could add more whenever he wants.
Naturally, the WH is painting this as some amazing historic thing. Despite the major benefits appearing to be "undoing some of the effects Trump himself caused unilaterally." Trump has also recently suggested that Phase Two would be postponed -- possibly because China's not signing anything else and he knows it -- and that Phase One, yes the thing they just signed that barely does anything, was the "heavy lifting".
-- Schumer, yesterday.
So, in that respect, this Phase One deal is a lot like NAFTA 1.0.0.2 in that it does nearly nothing new, while Trump celebrates it like an outstanding victory.
- - - Updated - - -
Addendum:
here is the full released text. Axios also points out that
1) it's basically China agreeing to buy stuff they wanted anyhow (and, as I pointed out, no more than they were already buying) and
2) China's President didn't even bother to come to the US to sign it.