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.
“He seldom talks about political or ideological issues. His logic is very simple, do not upset him or his voters,” said Lu Zhengwei, chief economist at the Shanghai-based Industrial Bank, who added that Trump’s treatment of an erstwhile ally in Brazil showed “once again” his volatility.
While Trump has often spoken about his close friendship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, he has placed or threatened tariffs on virtually all Chinese exports to the US.
“Weaker currencies and growing output in grains and oilseeds from the region have led to significantly more competition over export markets for US farmers,” said Wenyu Yao, senior commodity strategist at ING.
With the clock ticking on an interim trade deal between the US and China, and South American crops due to hit the market in February, American farmers are now anxious that their stockpiles of beans will go unsold.
“If I were a Chinese official I would really question the validity of any agreement with this president. Argentina and Brazil thought they had reached a deal, only to wake up today to find the president unilaterally reneged on the deal,” said Nicole Bivens Collinson, president of law firm Sandler Travis & Rosenberg and former US trade negotiator.
As long as Chinese negotiators enter the negotiations knowing Trump could change his mind at any time for any reason then they should make the best deal they can and know it could be violated
“As long as Chinese negotiators enter the negotiations knowing Trump could change his mind at any time for any reason then they should make the best deal they can and know it could be violated. And even if the action taken is illegal, it will not get resolved until the courts rule,” she added, referring to the recent ruling by the Court of International Trade that the White House only has limited power to impose tariffs – such as those now facing Brazil and Argentina – for national security reasons.
“It does not make it better,” Trump said on Monday when asked if the act would make a deal with China harder to achieve. “The Chinese are always negotiating. I’m very happy where we are … But the Chinese want to make a deal. We’ll see what happens.”
Amid rising tensions between the superpowers, it was difficult to know “whether there are enough mutual interests around which to build an agreement. It seems on every point the US and China are diametrically opposed,” said William Marshall, a Hong Kong-based partner at trade law firm Tiang and Partners.
Wang Yongzhong, a senior researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a Beijing think tank linked to the Chinese government, added that the passing of the Hong Kong democracy act meant the likelihood of a US-China trade deal was declining.
“China-US relations have obviously deteriorate. Even if there’s a phase-one deal, bilateral economic relations are highly likely to swing back and forth, or even worsen further,” Wang warned.
