Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 4/8/19

Top U.S. and Chinese officials are closer than ever to reaching a deal to end the trade war and will continue negotiations by teleconference this week, White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday.

After the latest round of high-level talks wrapped up Friday in Washington, the White House released a vague statement that cited progress but said "significant work remains." Kudlow provided few details on Sunday other than to say the administration has made "great progress" with China on the issue of intellectual property theft and "good progress" on provisions aimed at curbing forced technology transfers.

The stumbling blocks: Unresolved issues include how to enforce any deal, Kudlow said, such as whether China would agree to give the U.S. a unilateral right to impose more tariffs if it believes Beijing is not honoring the pact.

"But in each and every place, a) they've acknowledged their problems," Kudlow said. "That was a very big hurdle. And b) what wasn't on the table [before] is on the table [now], and c) we're getting closer and closer."

Kudlow seemed less optimistic about USMCA on Capitol Hill: He was reluctant to predict whether Congress would vote on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement before 2020, once again noting that the decision is up to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But "we believe we'll get a vote," he said. "And if we get a vote, we'll win. I don't want to put timing on it. It's completely up to her, but she's been quite cooperative so far."

Trump's border threat jams Pence's USMCA charm offensive: Vice President Mike Pence's campaign to promote the NAFTA replacement across several swing states kicked off last week right as President Donald Trump said border security was more important to him than the USMCA deal, POLITICO's Gabby Orr reported. The weeks-long tour includes stops in farm towns and agricultural regions across Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and other 2020 battlegrounds.