Policy-wise, all eyes will be on the meeting between President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping at the G-20 meeting in Japan. While earlier last week Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the proposed agreement was 90% complete, similar reports have come out previously that were then followed by President Trump walking away and threatening higher tariffs. So let’s not get too excited, folks.

Trump continues to believe that his unpredictability is a great negotiating tool, but there appears to be a consensus that the two leaders will announce a standstill on the escalating trade war similar to the agreement they reached at the G20 a year ago in Argentina.

The path to a Trump electoral victory next year goes through farm country, and farmers in key states such as Wisconsin and Pennsylvania were central to his close win in both states. They have been hard hit by Trump's tariffs, so any agreement with China would be a positive for American agriculture.

On the other hand, China has been hurt with the tough sanctions the Trump Administration has imposed on Huawei Technologies. A partial agreement on the tech giant could become a stumbling block as President Xi may have a hard time selling any agreement with the US to hardliners back in Beijing if nothing happens with ...

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