CHINA/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump stopped short of announcing a final trade deal with China on Thursday [4-4-19], saying in an Oval Office meeting with the Chinese delegation that it may take another four weeks or more to secure an “epic” trade agreement. Negotiators had originally aimed to secure a deal this week during a visit from Liu He, the Chinese vice premier and special trade envoy, and announce a presidential summit meeting between Mr. Trump and Xi Jinping of China. But after more than a year of tit-for-tat tariffs, on-and-off negotiations and threats of additional punishment, the United States and China continue to haggle over some remaining issues, including how many of the American tariffs on Chinese goods will be removed, and when…People familiar with the negotiations had said that the president was poised to announce a summit meeting with China. But those plans spurred a backlash among some of the president’s trade advisers, who argued that announcing a meeting before the deal was struck would weaken the United States’ hand and give it less leverage to force changes it is seeking.”
–Ana Swanson, “‘Epic’ China Trade Deal Near Completion, Trump Says, but Haggling Continu,” The New York Times online, April 4, 2019