U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Wednesday’s first hour of AgriTalk told host Chip Flory that Phase-1 of the trade agreement between the U.S. and China is very much intact. Ambassador Lighthizer did not rule out a decoupling of the U.S. from China, but he made it clear the Trump Administration and his team at USTR are working to enforce existing trade agreements and to continue negotiations on Phase-2.

Ambassador Lighthizer also said, contrary to earlier reports, the Chinese government did not order state-owned companies to “pause” purchases of U.S. ag products. Those purchases under Phase-1 of the agreement are to total more than $30 billion in calendar year 2020, according to Lighthizer.