In the Oval Office, Trump expressed his optimism on US-China trade negotiation despite current escalation in trade war, and announced new plan to aid farmed affected.
Trump reiterated that the negotiations were 95% done when China suddenly backtracked on its commitments. And, the US cannot let China continue to take advantage on trade. But he on further talks, he added “we’ll let you know in about three or four weeks whether of not it was successful. … But I have a feeling it’s going to be very successful”. Regarding the new round of tariffs on USD 325B in Chinese imports, Trump sounded non-committal and said he hasn’t made a decision yet.
He went further to once again hailed his “very good relationship” with Xi and indicate there could be a meeting soon. He said: “Maybe something will happen. We’re going to be meeting, as you know, at the G20 in Japan and that’ll be, I think, probably a very fruitful meeting.”
Additionally, Trump indicated the administration was planning a second round aids to farmers, at around USD 15B due to trade war. He said “we’re going to take the highest year, the biggest purchase that China has ever made with our farmers, which is about $15 billion, and do something reciprocal to our farmers so our farmers can do well.” And, “Out of the billions of dollars that we’re taking (tariffs), a small portion of that will be going to our farmers, because China will be retaliating, probably to a certain extent, against our farmers.”
