Zamastan, the Empire of Xiomera, and Kerlile, joined by the Empire of Trive, are face-to-face in trade talks in Eiria this week, but hopes for progress hinge on whether Xiomera and Kerlile can create favorable conditions, Secretary of Trade Trista Demore said on Thursday.
In the latest tit-for-tat escalation of the trade war between two of the IDU's most versatile economies, President Anya Bishop last Friday heaped an additional duty of five percent on about Z$350bn in targeted Xiomeran goods.
The move came hours after Xiomera and Kerlile had unveiled retaliatory tariffs on Z$75bn worth of Zamastanian goods.
Zamastan hopes the Xiomerans can cancel the planned additional tariffs to avoid an escalation in the trade war, Demore told reporters on Thursday.
"The most important thing at the moment is to create necessary conditions for both sides to continue negotiations, and hopefully end the disputes right out" she said during a weekly briefing, adding that Zamastan was lodging "solemn representation" with the Empire of Xiomera.
For just over a month, the Bishop administration has sought to pressure Xiomera to eliminate what it calls unfair trade practices and make sweeping changes to its policies on human rights, media censorship, intellectual property protection, forced transfers of technology to Xiomeran firms, industrial subsidies and market access.
But Xiomera has constantly denied such accusations, vowing to fight back in kind and criticizing Zamastanian measures as protectionist.
Demore reiterated that Zamastan had "ample" retaliatory measures it could use if Xiomera eventually moved to impose additional planned tariffs, but was willing to resolve the issue calmly.
On Monday, Bishop predicted a trade deal with China, saying she believed it was sincere about wanting to reach a deal, citing what she called increasing economic pressure on Xiomera and job losses there.