News analysis

Concerns in US over how to enforce terms of a US-China trade deal

Business community flags absence of mechanism to ensure that Beijing delivers on its promises

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The American business community generally welcomed the latest round of US-China trade talks, but it highlighted the absence of agreement over a concrete way of ensuring that Beijing delivers on its promises, a much tougher challenge for the future.

Implementation of any deal must be "subject to ongoing verification and effective enforcement", a point raised by the US delegation during the talks, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) said in a statement on Wednesday.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 11, 2019, with the headline Concerns in US over how to enforce terms of a US-China trade deal. Subscribe