Donald Trump: ‘no deadline’ for trade war deal with China, may come after US election
- US President Donald Trump, in London ahead of a meeting of Nato leaders, said it is up to him to decide whether to make a deal with China
- He had already said that the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which he signed last week, may hamper his chances of securing a trade deal with China
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he had no timeline for reaching a trade deal with China, and that it now might come after the 2020 presidential election.
The comments, made in London ahead of a meeting of Nato leaders, added to the flurry of trade moves made by the United States in the previous 24 hours.
Trump said progress was being made on the trade agreement with China, but that it was up to him to decide whether to make a deal.
I have no deadline, no. In some ways, I think it’s better to wait until after the election with China
“I have no deadline, no. In some ways, I think it’s better to wait until after the election with China,” Trump said. “I just tell you, in some ways, I like the idea of waiting until after the election for the China deal, but they want to make a deal now and we’ll see whether or not the deal is going to be right, its gotta be right.
“It’s not if they want to make it, it’s if I want to make it, and we’ll see what happens. I don’t know that I want to make it, but we’re going to find out pretty soon, we’ll surprise everybody.”
Trump’s comments followed a roller-coaster day on Monday in American trade policy that was likely to leave Chinese negotiators wary about the sustainability of any deal, China and trade watchers said.
