Trump sees no Xi summit by tariff date, stocking trade worries
- by Ken Ortega
- in Worldwide
- — Feb 11, 2019
President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will likely not meet before a critical trade deadline, dampening hopes of a deal to end a almost yearlong tariff dispute between the United States and China.
But the US President said the two would "maybe" meet later.
"At some point, the two presidents will meet - that is what Mr. Trump has been saying", Kudlow told reporters. "But that is off in the distance still, at the moment", he told reporters.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. U.S. Treasury bond yields also dropped following the move of investors in securing their safety in sovereign U.S. debt.
Trump later confirmed the two leaders will not meet before the March 1 deadline of the tariff truce between the United States and China.
Unless American and Chinese negotiators come to a new agreement, the U.S. is expected to raise import taxes from 10 per cent to 25 per cent for USD200 billion in Chinese goods.
At the G20 summit in Argentina in December, Trump and Xi agreed to a 90-day truce to allow room for a new trade agreement.
More news: Senate Judiciary Committee Approves William Barr to Be New Attorney GeneralPresident Trump ruled out a meeting with his counterpart Xi Jinping before a crucial March trade-war deadline. They include USA demands that China boost imports of US products, and Chinese government and corporate pressure on US firms to transfer their technology to Chinese partners. It is also expected that the situation will negatively affect the USA stock market.
When asked whether there would be a meeting in the next month or so, Trump said: "Not yet".
If the talks do not succeed, Trump has threatened to increase USA tariffs on Chinese imports. China denies the accusations.
In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Trump said a trade deal needed to include "real structural change to end unfair trade practices, reduce our trade deficit and protect American jobs".
Such reforms have been a sticking point in talks so far.
Trump, who made the comments on Thursday during two days of negotiations between American and Chinese trade officials, suggested a face-to-face meeting could be combined with his trip to Asia later this month for a second meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, reports The New York Times. "China's representatives and I are trying to do a complete deal, leaving NOTHING unresolved on the table". Lighthizer and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He met last week in Washington for trade talks.
