This weekend is an important deadline for the nation’s most significant ongoing trade dispute. December 15 is the deadline for more retaliatory tariffs that President Trump threatened to impose against China. Those increases have already been pushed back once, and several California agriculture industries hope that happens again.
Almond Board of California’s Julie Adams said there are two possible positive scenarios. “It could be further delayed, which would be one option, particularly if the discussions are ongoing and we are hopeful for that,” she said. “The best-case scenario would be some announcements on the phase-one agreement and what that is going to be.”
With contradictory reports about the trade dispute going on for over a year, Adams added that it’s difficult to predict what will happen before it does. “It could be completely different in 72 hours, so we just have to wait and see,” Adams said. “The important thing is that as an industry, it’s important to keep providing information to USDA and trade negotiators about the impact this is having on our industry.”
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