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Trade talks progress, with fears of overcompromise

American and Chinese officials have reportedly begun to hash out documents that could form the basis of a trade deal, but there are growing concerns that leaders of both nations are softening on key demands. More on the progress from Bloomberg, citing an unidentified source:

• Several memorandums of understanding “would cover areas including agriculture, non-tariff barriers, services, technology transfer and intellectual property, said the person.”

• “The enforcement mechanism remains unclear, but would likely be a threat that tariffs would be reimposed if conditions aren’t met, the person said.”

• “No breakthrough is expected during this week’s talks,” though an extension to a March 1 deadline is still a possibility.

But there’s a new fear surrounding the deal. According to Lingling Wei and Bob Davis of the WSJ, there are “growing concerns on the home front” in both America and China that their leaders — and President Trump in particular — are “going to cave in to the other side”:

• Some officials reportedly believe Mr. Trump is “tiring of the trade dispute and is poised to cut a deal that won’t lead to fundamental changes by China.”