Trump says he spoke with China's Xi ahead of expected trade deal signing
- President Donald Trump struck a positive tone toward trade negotiations with China on Friday.
- He said the two sides would soon finalize an interim agreement to defuse a more than yearlong economic dispute.
- The phase-one agreement is still subject to a translation process and legal scrubs.
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President Donald Trump struck a positive tone toward trade negotiations with China on Friday, saying the two sides would soon finalize an interim agreement to defuse tensions.
"Had a very good talk with President Xi of China concerning our giant Trade Deal," the president wrote on Twitter. "China has already started large scale purchaes (sic) of agricultural product & more. Formal signing being arranged. Also talked about North Korea, where we are working with China, & Hong Kong (progress!)."
The US and China revealed some of the details of a so-called phase one trade agreement last week, which had been announced in October. It suspended planned escalations and lowered tariffs to 7.5% from 15% on some Chinese products, which were valued at more than $100 billion in 2017. A steep 25% tariff remains on roughly $250 billion worth of imports.
The White House said that agreement also included commitments on import quotas, intellectual property protections, currency rules and market access. The agreement is expected to be signed in January, according to a senior administration official.
Businesses and investors welcomed the progress and called for a more comprehensive deal to end the more than yearlong economic battle, which the Trump administration said would pressure China to stop unfair trade practices.
The phase-one agreement is still subject to a translation process and legal scrubs. Trump said China would buy at least $50 billion in US farm products, but the second-largest economy has declined to confirm that figure.