Discussions between foreign ministry representatives of the U.S. and China have done little to defuse tensions between the two countries. China’s foreign ministry has noted that “China-US relations are currently at a deadlock”. That bodes ill for the future of the phase 1 trade deal between the two countries. The most recent semi-annual review in February did not occur and an August meeting appears unlikely. U.S. exports of products covered by the phase 1 trade deal climbed 38.1% year over year in June and by 55.8% compared to June 2017, the baseline year for the deal. Yet, exports in th...