The U.S. is set to delve into whether China has adhered to the promises it made in a 2020 trade agreement that former President Donald Trump hailed as a significant achievement. This investigation, announced by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, comes at a critical juncture as trade tensions between the two nations appear to be simmering once more.

On the same day as the announcement, Trump was slated for a trip to Asia, where he planned to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping to address the escalating trade disputes between the United States and China, the world’s largest economies. However, while Beijing has confirmed Xi’s visit to South Korea for a regional economic meeting and a state visit, it remains uncertain whether a face-to-face meeting with Trump will take place.

The potential summit between the two leaders is under the spotlight, given the recent increase in trade restrictions each nation has imposed on the other. Trump has even floated the idea of introducing a 100% tariff on Chinese goods. In response, China has insisted the U.S. refrain from imposing new restrictions while engaging in dialogue, casting doubt on how Greer’s announcement might impact ongoing discussions.

Wendy Cutler, who previously served as a U.S. trade negotiator and is now vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, suggests that the U.S. administration might be seeking new leverage points against Beijing. The investigation could serve as an added pressure to encourage China to increase its purchase of U.S. goods, including soybeans.

In starting the investigation, “the administration seems to be looking for new sources of leverage to use against Beijing, while adding another pressure point to get China to buy more U.S. soybeans as well as other goods,” said Wendy Cutler, a former U.S. trade negotiator who is now vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

During his first term, Trump imposed tariffs on a wide swath of Chinese imports and Beijing retaliated by targeting American products in a dispute over China’s aggressive efforts to supplant U.S. technological leadership. The Americans charged that China unfairly subsidized its own tech companies, stole technology and forced U.S. and other Western companies to hand over trade secrets in return for access to the Chinese market.

The two countries held talks over two years and ultimately reached a truce that took effect in early 2020. The so-called Phase One deal called for China to dramatically step up purchases of U.S. exports, especially soybeans and other farm products. But it left tougher issues such as China’s subsidies for future talks.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted trade between the two countries just as the Phase One deal went into effect. In 2022, U.S. farm exports to China did hit a record but then fell. They are down sharply this year as tensions between the two countries have escalated over a new tariff war following Trump’s return to the White House.

In fact, China has stopped buying American soybeans. It had been the top overseas market for U.S. soybean farmers.

An analysis by the Peterson Institute for International Economics shows that China purchased only 58% of the total U.S. goods and services exports in 2020 and 2021 that it had committed to buy under the agreement.

Cutler said it is “no secret that China did not live up to its obligations under the Phase One agreement, most notably its commitments to buy more U.S. goods.”

The investigation announced Friday is being carried out under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which is meant to counter unfair trading practices by other countries. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has scheduled a public hearing on the case for Dec. 16.

The investigation could result in additional trade sanctions on China. U.S. tariffs on Chinese products already come to 55%, including tariffs left over from Trump’s first term.

The president in early October threatened to add an additional 100% levy, possibly bringing the total to 155%, after Beijing expanded export rules on rare earth materials. However, Trump also said the triple-digit tariff would be “not sustainable.”