The U.S. and China have worked to sign what the White House has described as a “phase one” trade deal. Trump hopes to resolve outstanding gripes with Beijing’s trade practices, including forced technology transfers and intellectual property theft, while securing more Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural goods.
The Trump administration has slapped tariffs on more than $500 billion in Chinese goods, while Beijing has put duties on about $110 billion in American products. China has pushed for the U.S. to remove tariffs, which have the potential to wreak havoc on the global economy, as part of an agreement.
The White House declined to comment on Trump’s remarks.
Skepticism quickly grew Thursday about China’s statement that the U.S. agreed to roll back tariffs. Some administration officials and outside advisors opposed the prospect of scrapping duties, worrying it would reduce American leverage in ongoing talks, Reuters reported.
On Thursday night, Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro also denied the reports. He told Fox Business Network that “the only person who can make [the decision to roll back tariffs] is Donald J. Trump.”
Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have looked for a venue to sign the first piece of the trade deal. They had planned to sign the agreement at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in Chile later this month, before that country’s president canceled the event due to protests.
On Friday, Trump said he and his Chinese counterpart would sign the first part of the deal in the United States. He has previously suggested the sides could meet in Iowa for the signing.
— CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report
Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/08/trump-says-he-has-not-agreed-to-roll-back-tariffs-on-china-after-week-of-trade-optimism.html
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