President TrumpDonald John TrumpThe Hill’s Morning Report – Sponsored by AdvaMed – House panel expected to approve impeachment articles Thursday Democrats worried by Jeremy Corbyn’s UK rise amid anti-Semitism Warren, Buttigieg duke it out in sprint to 2020 MORE on Thursday teased that the U.S. and China are progressing toward a trade agreement, a shift in tone after the president in recent weeks suggested a deal could wait until well into 2020.
“Getting VERY close to a BIG DEAL with China. They want it, and so do we!” Trump tweeted.
Getting VERY close to a BIG DEAL with China. They want it, and so do we!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2019
Stock market gains spiked immediately after the president’s tweet.
Trump has previously claimed on multiple occasions that the two sides were close to finalizing an agreement, though in each case talks stalled.
Trump announced in early October that the U.S. and China had agreed to a “phase one” deal that encompassed agricultural purchases, financial services and some intellectual property issues.
But the two sides have not formally signed off on any agreement in the two months since, and Trump appeared resigned to letting talks drag out as recently as last week.
“I don’t have a deadline,” Trump told reporters during last week’s NATO meetings in London. “In some ways, I think it’s better to wait until after the election with China.”
Thursday’s more optimistic tone comes days before the U.S. is set to impose another round of tariffs on Chinese goods. Administration officials have said a final decision has not been made on whether to delay those tariffs, but the U.S. has previously postponed similar increases amid ongoing negotiations.
