President Donald Trump said the U.S. and China “could do something very substantial” when Chinese officials travel to Washington for trade talks this week, but he dismissed the idea of a partial deal.

Although the U.S. is authorized to levy "prohibitive" tariffs -- up to 100 percent -- on $7.5 billion in European imports, senior U.S. trade officials say they have decided to impose 10 percent tariffs on large civil aircraft and 25 percent tariffs on some European food products, British apparel, blankets and bed linen, some Irish and Scotch whiskey, German or British hand tools, lenses, books and self-propelled heavy equipment. The tariffs will go into effect Oct. 18, the officials said, and a Federal Register notice with the details is expected Oct. 3. The USTR's full list includes more than 150 tariff lines, though some are only part of the eight-digit line.

Two U.S. dairy industry associations thanked the Trump administration for signing an initial trade deal with Japan but cautioned that more work has to be done to appease the industry.

While U.S. authorities have not released any details on U.S. tariff reductions for Japanese imports, even to stakeholders, a press release from Japan's Economy, Ministry and Industry describes the reductions, which will add up to tens of millions of dollars annually.

President Donald Trump, just before meeting with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York at the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 24, answered a reporter's question on whether a trade announcement is coming by saying: "Bob Lighthizer, who's right here, was negotiating with India and their very capable representatives. And I think very soon we'll have a trade deal. We'll have the larger deal down the road a little bit, but we will have a trade deal very soon."

Mid-level negotiations between Chinese negotiators and Office of the U.S. Trade Representative staffers on Sept. 19 and 20 were productive, USTR announced after the close of business on Sept. 20. "The United States looks forward to welcoming a delegation from China for principal-level meetings in October," the announcement said.

President Donald Trump was silent on trade frictions when he appeared before tens of thousands of Indian-Americans in Houston on Sept. 22. On stage with him, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi only hinted at a possible solution to India's expulsion from the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program (see 1909060029). According to a transcript of the event issued by the White House, Modi said that over the next two to three days, he and Trump would discuss economic issues. "I hope that from these discussions as well we will have very positive results," he said. "By the way, President Trump calls me a tough negotiator. However, he himself is quite an expert in the 'art of the deal.' And I am learning quite a lot from him."

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., said that the two sides made progress again on edits to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement when they met Sept. 20. "Once issues are resolved, they're going to come off the table, and we're not going to revisit them as we proceed to the next one," Neal said. He said the Democrat working group he leads will have a written response for U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer next week, when they meet again.

The U.S. and Turkey created sectoral committees to reach the two sides’ $100 billion trade goal, the two countries said at a Sept. 10 press conference. The committees will help with the goal -- initially announced by President Donald Trump during his June G-20 meeting with Turkey -- by bringing together Turkish and American business circles to promote trade, according to a report from the Daily Sabah. The committees will be run by the two countries' trade ministries, the report said.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce led a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer expressing fear that the mini deal nearing completion with Japan will stall momentum for a broader trade negotiation. "We respectfully urge the Administration to hold fast to its commitment to achieve a comprehensive, high-standard trade agreement with Japan and ensure this initial package does not impede momentum toward such a broader accord." The Chamber and 13 trade groups said a comprehensive trade deal should address services, including express delivery, customs administration and trade facilitation, regulatory cooperation, intellectual property and more.