China offered American officials the package in trade talks last weekend, but the deal could quickly fizzle as the White House continues with its plans to impose tariffs on the country.
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| © Andy Wong/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images The offer came during a meeting this weekend between Commerce Secretary… |
By ANA SWANSON, The New York Times
WASHINGTON
China offered to purchase nearly $70 billion of energy, agricultural and manufactured products from the United States in the first year of a deal that would require the Trump administration to suspend tariffs on Chinese products, a person familiar with the talks said.
The offer, which came during a meeting this weekend in Beijing between Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and the Chinese economic adviser Liu He, would go only partway toward President Trump’s initial demand that China reduce its $375.2 billion trade surplus with the United States by $200 billion annually. And it leaves untouched other American requests, including that China allow American companies more access to its markets and end practices that the Trump administration and business executives say force companies to transfer valuable intellectual property.
The proposal could fizzle quickly. Chinese officials have said publicly that any agreements would be void if the United States continued with plans to impose tariffs and other restrictions, and American officials have given no indication so far that they intend to halt the tariffs.
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Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, would not comment on whether the Chinese proposal would pass muster with Mr. Trump, saying on Tuesday that “we’re in the negotiation process” and that “our focus is to make sure we get good deals.”
The White House has said the levies will go into effect shortly after a list of affected products is published by June 15, and that restrictions on Chinese investment in the United States will follow, shortly after they are announced by June 30.
Those plans have led to a bitter turf war within the administration as officials try to reach a deal with China that would allow Mr. Trump to claim victory in a brewing trade dispute.
Negotiators like Mr. Ross and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have pushed China to agree to a package of purchases that would benefit American businesses and forestall the possibility of a trade war between the economies. But that approach has drawn ire from hard-liners like Peter Navarro, a trade adviser, and Robert E. Lighthizer, the top trade negotiator, who argue that the White House needs to hold out for bigger concessions from China in terms of reforming its economy and reducing its trade surplus with the United States.
The Social Security program’s costs will exceed its income this year for the first time since 1982, forcing the program to dip into its nearly $3 trillion trust fund to cover benefits.
This is three years sooner than expected a year ago, partly due to lower economic growth projections, according to the latest annual report the trustees of Social Security and Medicare released Tuesday. The program’s income comes from tax revenue and interest from its trust fund.
The trust fund will be depleted in 2034 and Social Security will no longer be able to pay its full scheduled benefits unless Congress takes action to shore up the program’s finances. Without any changes, recipients then would receive only about three-quarters of their scheduled benefits from incoming tax revenues.
The report also said that Medicare’s hospital insurance fund would be depleted in 2026, three years earlier than anticipated in last year’s report. Absent changes, the program then would be able to handle 91% of costs.
The nation’s aging population is boosting the costs of Social Security and Medicare, while revenue gains lag due to slower growth in the economy and the labor force.
About 61.5 million people receive retirement or disability benefits from Social Security and 58.4 million receive Medicare.
The Social Security program works by using payroll taxes paid by workers and employers to pay for retirees’ benefits. What is left over is invested in the trust fund. Interest earned is reinvested in the fund.
Over time, the trust fund has grown to nearly $3 trillion. But long-running demographic trends threaten its finances. Last year, there were 2.8 workers for every Social Security recipient, down from 3.3 in 2007.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement the Trump administration’s efforts to cut taxes, reduce regulatory burdens and overhaul trade agreements would boost economic growth and generate new money for the country’s two largest entitlement programs.
Social Security consists of two programs, one for retirees and one for people who claim disability benefits.
The retirement program’s reserves are projected to be depleted in 2034, a year sooner than projected in last year’s report.
The disability fund is expected to run out in 2032, as opposed to 2028 as forecast in last year’s report. The program’s financial health has improved in recent years as the growth in disability applications has fallen, the report said.
The tax cuts signed into law last year have slightly lowered Medicare and Social Security’s projected revenue over the next few years. Lower income-tax rates reduced projected revenue from the taxation of Social Security benefits. That means less money flowing into both programs because those revenues are transferred to the trust funds.
President Donald Trump’s decision to end a program offering young undocumented immigrants reprieve from deportation while allowing them to work also reduced anticipated tax revenue into the Social Security program, the report said.
Congress has debated ways of bolstering the programs’ finances, but hasn’t agreed on what to do.
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