President Donald Trump announced a “substantial phase one deal” with China on Friday after continued negotiations with the vice premier of China that began on Thursday.
The president spoke about the future deal during remarks with reporters in the Oval Office at the White House after a meeting with Vice Premier of China H.E. Liu He.
“We’ve come to a very substantial phase one deal,” Trump said, noting that it would soon be written and signed by both parties.
The president said that China had agreed to $40 billion to $50 billion in agricultural purchases, as well as an agreement on intellectual property and financial services.
“That’s the largest order in the history of agriculture,” Trump said.
He said he was “excited” that farmers would experience a big economic boost as a result of the deal.
“They’re going to have to buy more land,” he said, questioning whether farmers could even produce enough agricultural products.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that they had also reached an agreement surrounding China’s currency after the United States labeled the country as a currency manipulator.
Trump said that the deal was still “subject to getting written,” but Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin confirmed that the scheduled tariff hike from 25 percent to 30 percent on October 15 would not take place as a result of the agreement.
Trump said he would likely sign the potential deal with President Xi Jinping at the APEC summit in Chile in November.
“I don’t think it should be a problem getting it papered,” Trump said, referring to the agreement.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the Chinese technology Huawei was not part of the deal and would be dealt with separately.
The stock market jumped over 500 points on Friday in reaction to the news but closed at 315 points.
Lighthizer confirmed the scheduled December 15 tariffs would remain in place for now.
“There’s plenty of time to make that decision,” Lighthizer said.
Trump said that it was possible that phase two and phase three part of the deal would happen afterward.
“Congratulations on the 70th” Trump said, referring to the Chinese Communist party in China celebrating their 70th anniversary. He described the military parade and event “amazing to watch.”
The Vice Premier thanked Trump for his congratulatory remarks about the Chinese government’s anniversary and expressed optimism about the future talks between the two countries.
“We have made substantial progress in many fields, and we are very happy about it,” Liu said.
Liu also presented Trump with a letter from Xi Jinping to the president who took it out of the envelope and showed it to reporters.
“We’re working on enforcement right now,” Trump said, noting that the deals would be written and set for the signed agreement in November.
“We think that China wants it badly and we want it also,” he said.
Trump said that the deal might signal a future “love fest” with China and the Vice Premier said that the deal would bring “peace and prosperity to the world.”
“It’s beyond a trade deal,” Trump said.
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