The Atypical Fashion of the Us-China ‘Phase 1’-Deal: Context, Content and Perspectives
2020 ◽
Vol 23
(2)
◽
pp. 347-370
In January 2020, the US and China finally concluded a bilateral trade agreement amidst an ongoing trade war. From the US side, the US-China ‘phase 1’-deal was hailed as a great achievement. The paper critically examines whether and to what extent the US-China ‘phase 1’-deal can keep up with its promises. In the course of the analysis, the paper finds that the trade deal will neither place US-Chinese trade relations on a new footing, nor does it incentivise China to fundamentally change its economic model. Instead, one may argue that the ‘phase 1’-deal has a harming effect on the multilateral idea of trade law as of today.