The coronavirus outbreak could have the unexpected effect of helping the U.S. ensure that China sticks by its promise to purchase $40 billion to $50 billion worth of U.S. farm goods over two years because it will need the food, writes Sean Higgins at the Washington Examiner.
 

Beijing promised to buy the farm goods as part of an overall pledge to purchase $200 billion in U.S. goods and services, a key part of the “phase one” trade deal it signed with the White House in January. It has made similar promises in the past with various U.S. administrations, however, only to walk them back later. Yet the coronavirus outbreak could hurt domestic production enough that China will need those U.S. farm goods more than it ever has before.

The main problem caused by the coronavirus for the international economy has been the disruption in Chinese production and the corresponding effect that has had on companies that rely on China’s exports, noted Christopher Swift, an international trade lawyer with the firm Foley & Lardner. The story is different for those who export to China. “If their own domestic production is problematic because of the disruptions that they have had, they may actually need to buy stuff from [the] U.S.,” Swift said.