John Gilliland Quoted In Delta Farm News on China Trade Talks

Delta Farm Press has quoted Akin Gump international trade consultant John Gilliland in the article “China ‘dialogues’ producing few results for U.S. exporters so far,” from a speech he gave to the National Cotton Council’s board of directors in August. Gilliland discussed the “Dual-Track” approach aimed at improving trade relations between the United States and China, which, so far, has produced a few break-throughs, such as the resumption of U.S. beef exports– but little else.

The article reports that National Cotton Council leaders have been monitoring such activities as the 100-day Action Plan and the Comprehensive Economic Dialogue (CED) between the two countries to help position U.S. cotton so it can take advantage of any positive developments such as improvements in tariff rate quotas.

Gilliland said the 100-day Action Plan was designed to bring some “quick deliverables” to both sides, while the CED will be the forum that governs and provides a chance for the two sides to talk about longer-term issues. He cited some trade “irritants” that can get in the way of meaningful dialogue between the two countries including, for example, a Section 232 investigation by the Trump administration of steel and aluminum imports that could affect “the effectiveness of the U.S. to talk about agricultural products.” There is also a potential intellectual property dispute that “raises the temperature of the relationship” and could lead to possible retaliation.

Gilliland then spoke about industry representative meetings with staff from the National Economic Council, the U.S. Trade Representative and the Department of Agriculture, where they outlined certain priorities, including the opportunity to sell U.S. cotton to China and greater flexibility on shipping.