US-China trade deal nearing completion, says Politico

A deal to resolve the long-running trade war between the United States and China is "largely complete", according to a source cited by Politico.

An unnamed senior administration official claimed that, as it stands, the work in progress currently spans around 140 pages and includes significant enforcement mechanisms that would see the re-imposition of US tariffs on China if the Asian superpower breaks the terms of the deal.

The deal does not reportedly allow China to retaliate against US tariffs imposed in this scenario and it remains unclear whether Chinese President Xi Jinping will agree to the terms, though the source was confident that there could be an official signing event when Xi meets President Trump at Mar-a-Lago at the end of March.

The news comes just a day after the Trump administration's top negotiator, Rober Lighthizer, appeared to contradict the President's claim that a deal was "very, very close" while speaking to Congress' Ways and Means Committee during a hearing on the administration’s trade talks with Beijing.

"Let me be clear: much still needs to be done both before an agreement is reached and, more importantly, after it is reached, if one is reached," said Lighthizer.

Lighthizer continued in a pragmatic manner, adding that even a strong and enforceable deal would require a rigorous follow-up, and said it was likely that new trade problems would emerge.

It is not the first time that Trump and his top negotiator have appeared to be at odds with each other as earlier this week the President overruled Lighthizer's use of the term "Memorandum of Understanding" to describe the agreement that is being negotiated with China, instead opting for the simpler "trade deal".

This apparent spat at mere terminology has raised concerns among political analysts that Trump could interfere with Lighthizer's negotiations.

Niall Ferguson, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, told CNBC: "I think the big question ... is whether or not President Trump is going to overrule Robert Lighthizer and take a deal that Lighthizer would regard as inadequate, as weak. I very much hope he doesn't do that because Robert Lighthizer has been doing an excellent job driving a very hard bargain and when Lighthizer says we're not there yet, I take that very seriously."