US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Feb. 15, 2019

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Wednesday the U.S. is working towards formally abandoning plans to hike tariffs on Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The report said those plans would be shelved as long as the two countries continue talking, marking the clearest signal that a trade deal between them could be on the horizon.

Originally, the U.S. planned on hiking tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods if a deal could not be reached by 12:01 a.m. on Saturday.

The Journal said Lighthizer made those remarks following his testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee. Lighthizer testified that China needs to do more than just buy additional U.S. goods for the two countries to strike a trade deal.

He also testified that "much still needs to be done both before an agreement is reached and, more importantly, after it is reached, if one is reached."

Click here to read the Journal's full report.

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