Top negotiators from the United States and China are expected to meet for in-person talks in the coming days, according to sources familiar with the situation. Discussions will center on establishing a new trade deal between the world’s two largest national economies, say unnamed sources cited in various media reports.

Most analysts and insiders don’t believe a deal is imminent, with sources telling CNBC that White House officials are contemplating a timeline that could take roughly six months to produce a deal.

Still, the resumption of in-person talks is a potentially positive step for the promotional products industry, which has experienced repercussions, like product price increases, as a result of the import tariffs on Chinese goods. Tariffs have been at the center of the U.S./China trade war. The North American promotional products industry imports the vast majority of products sold here from China.

According to sources, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and senior American officials will travel to China some time between Friday and August 1^st. Pivotal points of contention remain in play. Beijing, for instance, is adamant that it won’t agree to a deal until the U.S. drops its tariffs. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s administration has been staunch in its insistence on legally-binding provisions that provide intellectual property right protections for U.S. companies conducting business in China – something China has balked at.

U.S. officials will travel to China for trade talks: Bloomberg https://t.co/2CydeLJShd pic.twitter.com/xhVOdsC4LL

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) July 23, 2019

Over the last year, the Trump administration has placed tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese imports. China has hit back with tariffs on $110 billion in U.S. goods. In May and June, the trade dispute was rising to fever pitch, with Trump threatening to place tariffs of 25% on an additional $300 billion in Chinese products. Tensions cooled, however, after Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke in a sidebar discussion at the recent G20 Summit, forging an uneasy truce that laid the groundwork for talks to resume.

For the promo industry, import tariffs have led to price increases on levy-affected items, contributed to destabilizing the industry norm of annual pricing, and caused uncertainty that hasn’t been good for business, promo executives have said. Still, industry-wide distributor sales increased 3.4% in the first quarter. The U.S. economy was up 3.2% in Q1.

For more on tariffs and promo, head here.