Markets were jolted after President Trump suggested a trade deal with China could be delayed until after the US presidential election in November next year.
Myles McCormick for The Irish Times:
Speaking in London during a press conference with Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg, Mr Trump said he had “no deadline” for getting a deal done, adding: “In some ways I think it’s better to wait until after the election.”
“The China trade deal is dependent on one thing: Do I want to make it?” said Mr Trump. “…we’re doing very well with China right now and we can do even better.”
Separately, Beijing also upped the trade war ante as it retaliated against Mr Trump’s decision to sign legislation supporting protesters in Hong Kong by barring US navy ships from visiting the territory and slapping sanctions on four non-governmental organisations. Mr Trump said that signing the legislation did not increase the chances of agreeing a so-called “phase one” trade deal.
MacDailyNews Note: President Trump’s quote:
The China trade deal is dependent on one thing: Do I want to make it? Because we’re doing very well with China right now and we can do even better with a flick of a pen. And China’s paying for it. And China has the worst year, by far, that they’ve had in 57 years. I have no deadline, no. In some ways, I think it is better to wait until after the election if you want to know the truth… In some ways, I like the idea of waiting until after the election for the China deal, but they want to make a deal now and we will see whether or not the deal is going to be right; it’s gotta be right.
