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U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday a deal with Beijing to end a trade dispute between the two countries was coming along nicely, with U.S. negotiators poised to be in China next week for more talks, Trend reports citing Reuters.
Washington and Beijing have slapped import duties on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of each other’s products. The eight-month trade war between the world’s two largest economies has raised costs, roiled financial markets, shrunk U.S. farm exports and disrupted manufacturing supply chains.
“The deal is coming along nicely,” Trump said to reporters at the White House. He added that top U.S. negotiators were going to China this weekend “to further the deal.”
Asked about lifting tariffs on China, Trump said: “We’re not talking about removing them. We’re talking about leaving them for a substantial period of time because we have to make sure that if we do the deal,” China abides by it. He did not elaborate.
Later, during a speech in Lima, Ohio, Trump emphasized again that he wanted the United States to reach a “great” trade deal with China.
“We’re so far down, it’s got to be a great deal. If it’s not a great deal, you never catch up,” Trump said in remarks made at a tank manufacturing plant.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will be in China next week for another round of trade talks, a Trump administration official said on Tuesday.
The face-to-face talks will be the first since Trump delayed a March 1 deadline to avert a rise in tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25 percent from the current 10 percent.