Trump: China trade deal may not get done

A partial truce once was expected to be signed next weekend.

President Donald Trump suggested on Friday that the U.S. and China may not complete a partial trade deal this year, raising fresh doubts about prospects for a commercial truce that once was expected to be signed next weekend.

“We’ll see what happens,” the president replied when a reporter asked if the agreement would be concluded in 2019.

What happened

Speaking on the south lawn of the White House, the president added to confusion over the state of the roller-coaster talks. He denied reports — which the White House had confirmed one day earlier — that he had agreed to remove some tariffs as part of an initial deal.

“I haven’t agreed to anything,” Trump said. “China would like to get somewhat of a rollback, not a complete rollback because they know I won’t do it.”

Why it matters

The president’s remarks appeared to conflict with those of his National Economic Council director, Larry Kudlow. On Thursday, Kudlow confirmed the Chinese Commerce Ministry’s claim of a tariff accord, telling Bloomberg: “If there’s a Phase 1 trade deal, there are going to be tariff agreements and concessions.”

White House officials speaking privately also confirmed the Chinese statement.

Chinese officials have insisted that any deal must include the immediate removal of some tariffs and a path toward the elimination of all of the levies Trump has imposed since March of last year.

The president turned to tariffs last year to force China to abandon trade practices, especially in the high-technology area, that disadvantaged American companies.

The U.S. currently levies tariffs on roughly $360 billion in Chinese imports and plans to extend the import fees to everything Americans buy from China starting Dec.15.

Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. trade representative, is pushing China to accept an enforcement mechanism that would condition tariff reductions on Chinese implementation of the agreement. Tariffs would fall — or rise — depending upon whether Beijing complied with specific terms, said one person familiar with the talks.

What’s next

In response to the president’s comments, Hu Xijin, the editor of China’s nationalist Global Times newspaper, tweeted: “What’s certain is that if there’s no rollback of tariffs, there will be no Phase 1 deal.”

The U.S. currently levies tariffs on roughly $360 billion in Chinese imports and plans to extend the import fees to everything Americans buy from China starting Dec. 15.

MARIO TAMA / GETTY IMAGES A cargo chip arrives into the Port of Los Angeles on Thursday after departing from the Port of Yantian, China. L.A. port officials said October cargo volume was down 19 percent this year.