Responding to a question on whether he thought he needed to strike a trade deal with China before the 2020 presidential election, US President Donald Trump said, “No, I don’t think I need it before the election” on Friday.
Speaking during a press conference at the White House, along with Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Trump said that he is “not looking for a partial deal” with Beijing, a change in his position from the previous week when he said he would consider an interim deal.
The statement comes after the US exempted tariffs on 437 Chinese products including circuit boards, graphics processors, dog collars, laminated wood flooring and miniature Christmas lights. Trump said his administration was making progress, as deputy-level Chinese and US trade negotiators entered into their second day of talks.
The notification to lift the tariffs was issued by the US Trade Representative office, with three Federal Register notices exempting the 437 items.
The talks were expected to focus heavily on agriculture, laying the groundwork for another round of high-level talks in October. A delegation of 30 Chinese officials led by China’s Vice Finance Minister Liao Min met their counterparts (led by Deputy USTR Jeffrey Gerrish) at the USTR office.
Trump remained hawkish on the tariff approach, stating that he expected the US to make $100 billion in revenue from the tariffs soon.
An opinion piece in China’s state-run news outlet Global Times called the lifting of tariffs a “goodwill signal”
