Trump: US has not yet agreed to tariff rollback on Chinese goods

United States President Donald Trump on Friday said that he has not agreed to rollbacks of US tariffs on goods from China, sparking fresh doubts about when the world’s two largest economies will end a 16-month trade war that has slowed global growth.

Officials from both countries on Thursday had said China and the US have agreed to roll back tariffs on each others’ goods in a “phase one” trade deal. But the idea of tariff rollbacks apparently met with some stiff opposition within the Trump administration.

Those divisions were on full display on Friday, when Trump – who has repeatedly described himself as “Tariff Man” – told reporters at the White House that he had not yet agreed to reduce tariffs already put in place.

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

He said China wanted to make a deal more than he did, adding that the US tariffs were generating “billions of dollars” for US coffers. “I’m very happy right now. We’re taking in billions of dollars,” he said.

US stocks dipped after Trump’s comments, and the dollar fell against the yen, stalling a rally fuelled by trade deal optimism that has brought major indexes to record levels.

No ‘phase-one deal’?

Trump also said the trade deal with China, if completed, would not be signed abroad. “Assuming we’d get it … it could be Iowa or farm country or someplace like that. It will be in our country,” he said.

The farm state of Iowa has been hammered by China’s retaliatory tariffs on US soya beans, pork and other farm products, but has long-standing connections to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Hu Xijin, editor of China’s state-run Global Times newspaper, reacted on Twitter, writing that markets were not expecting Trump’s statements.

“It’s not a flat denial,” Hu tweeted. “What’s certain is that if there’s no rollback of tariffs, there will be no phase 1 deal.”

Experts inside and outside the US government warn the “phase one” trade pact could still fall apart.

US officials said a lot of work remained to be done when Trump announced the outlines of an interim deal last month, and Beijing has since pushed back on US demands for big agricultural purchases, among other issues.

Trump has used tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese goods as his primary weapon in the protracted trade war. However, the prospect of lifting them, even in phases, has drawn fierce opposition from advisers in and outside of the White House who remain wary of giving up a key aspect of US leverage in the trade war.

China in May scuttled a previous trade deal that US officials said was 90 percent completed.

If an interim deal is finished and signed, it is widely expected to include a US pledge to scrap tariffs scheduled for December 15 on about $156bn worth of Chinese imports, including mobile phones, laptop computers and toys.

But China was also seeking cancellation of other US tariffs put in place since January 2018. Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng on Thursday said both countries must simultaneously cancel some tariffs on each other’s goods to reach the phase-one pact.