U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he was open to postponing the March 2 deadline for tariffs if Washington and Beijing can reach a trade deal soon.
Trump softened his stance on the trade battle with China, saying he’s open to letting the deadline slide, but “would prefer not to.” He also said Beijing “very much wants to make a deal,” and he has “a big team” in China trying to reach a resolution.
When asked if he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the end of March, Trump said, “Not at this point.”
Trump’s comments came as the U.S. and China attempt to strike a deal amid an ongoing trade fight between the two economic powerhouses.
The March 2 deadline is crucial in the negotiations as U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods will increase if a deal is not struck before then. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, along with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, are in Beijing this week for another round of negotiations with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.
A morning note from strategists at DBS Group Research sounded a warning “not to count the chickens before they hatch.”
“The pendulum on whether a US-China trade deal could be struck has been swinging with US President Donald Trump’s comments on his on/off meeting with China President Xi Jinping to extending talks beyond the 1st of March. The extension will only be possible if China accedes to US’s push for enforcement mechanisms on areas such as forced technology transfer and intellectual property protection,” they said.
from Viral News Updates http://bit.ly/2DwdfSR
0 Comments