Our top story this afternoon.<br />The two-day trade negotiations between the U.S. and China ended without a deal.<br />The two sides say they've had some constructive talks, but as of now... there are no concrete plans for follow-up negotiations... with the U.S. looking to impose further tariffs on China.<br />Our Oh Jung-hee starts us off. <br />Trade delegations from Washington and Beijing -- including U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer... and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He -- met in Washington on Thursday and Friday.<br />But their two-day talks ended without a deal.<br />Beijing's top trade negotiator told the media afterwards... that differences exist, but the two sides will meet again.<br /><br /><br />"The two sides have conducted candid and constructive talks. We also agreed to meet again in Beijing to continue the talks in the future."<br /><br />U.S. President Donald Trump also assessed that the two sides had "candid and constructive" conversations.<br />He stressed that talks will continue in the future, highlighting his "strong" relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.<br /><br />According to Reuters, the talks fell apart as U.S. negotiators rejected Liu He's demand to revise the draft agreement.<br />China wanted to eliminate prior commitments,... pledging that Beijing would change its laws to enact new policies on intellectual property protection and forced technology transfers,... but the U.S. refused.<br /><br />Washington is moving to impose additional tariffs on Chinese products.<br />U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer released a statement on Friday... that Trump ordered his office to begin raising duties on all remaining imports from China -- which are worth about 300 billion dollars.<br />That... comes on top of an earlier tariff hike on approximately 200 billion US dollars worth of Chinese imports... from 10 percent to 25 percent.<br />In response,... Beijing's Commerce Ministry said it will have to take "necesssary countermeasures".<br /><br />With the schedule for future talks still undetermined... and with expectations of Chinese retaliation plus additional U.S. tariff hikes,... trade tensions are expected to further escalate in the near horizon.<br />Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News. <br />
