Chinese and U.S. trade negotiators continue to wrestle with exactly which trade tariffs will be removed as part of a “phase one” deal between China and the United States and under what conditions, sources from both sides told the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

There is still some modicum of optimism that a watered-down deal can be reached before new U.S tariffs go into effect on December 15, but even if the deal proves elusive, sources say it is likely they will be at least postponed.

If an agreement is not reached before December 15, those tariffs will therefore probably be delayed “because they are on the doorstep of this” phase one deal, said a source close to the Trump administration.

“I don’t think you’ll have something big delivered by December 15, but I do think that you will have something that forestalls the tariffs because it is in both sides’ interests,” the source said.