The European Union will verify that the trade deal between the US and China complies with global regulations, Reuters reported.

“The devil is in the detail,” EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan told reporters in London. According to him, the details were, so far, “a bit sketchy”.

“They have stepped outside the usual framework for doing deals ... and they are dealing directly on a bilateral basis and we will have to assess whether it is WTO compliant.”

The US and China signed the first phase of the trade deal on January 15. The document was signed by US President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier  Liu He at the White House in Washington. China promises to increase US imports of goods by $ 200 billion over two years to reduce the US trade deficit with China, which peaked at $ 420 billion in 2018. China has promised to purchase additional $ 80 billion worth of manufactured goods from the US in the next two years, including automobiles, auto components, aircraft, agricultural machinery and medical equipment.