1/31/2019

CHINA/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday [1-31-19] he would either strike a very big trade deal with China or ‘postpone’ it, but it was not clear precisely what he was referring to…The world’s two largest economies are trying to strike a deal on trade by early March to avoid a planned increase in the tariff rate being imposed on Chinese imports by the United States. Asked if he would postpone the U.S.-set deadline, Trump said: ‘I don’t know.’ But he said China wanted to strike a deal to avoid an increase in tariffs. ‘I’d like to accommodate them, if we can,’ Trump said. ‘I’d like to accommodate China if we can get the deal done.'”

Reuters, “Trump Says Wants Big Trade Deal With China or Will ‘Postpone’ It,” The New York Times online, January 31, 2019