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President Donald Trump said a trade framework with China has been completed, with Beijing supplying rare earths and magnets “UP FRONT” and the US allowing Chinese students into its colleges and universities.
The US and China will maintain tariffs at their current, lower levels following the two nations’ agreement this week in London, Trump said Wednesday. That number is still higher than before the president took office. Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping and he must still formally sign off on the agreement.
“OUR DEAL WITH CHINA IS DONE, SUBJECT TO FINAL APPROVAL WITH PRESIDENT XI AND ME,” Trump posted on social media. “WE ARE GETTING A TOTAL OF 55% TARIFFS, CHINA IS GETTING 10%. RELATIONSHIP IS EXCELLENT!”
Yet after months of tense back-and-forth between Washington and Beijing, it remained unclear if the latest round of negotiations brought the two sides closer to an ultimate understanding on trade — or if it just amounted to more talk.
“Trump is mentioning the current tariff status, in a misleading way, to show he has the upper hand,” said Neo Wang, lead China macro analyst at Evercore ISI.
Trump’s comments prompted fresh questions about the terms of the pact US and Chinese negotiators reached Tuesday. Markets had a mixed reaction on Wednesday to comments from Trump and his team, with US equity indexes fluctuating throughout the day.
Today's show features:
- Bloomberg Economic Chief Geoeconomics Analyst Jennifer Welch on progress in in US-China trade negotiations
- Alex Grassino, Global Chief Economist for Manulife Investment Management on investment options in the current economic environment
- Julia Coronado, Founder and President of MacroPolicy Perspectives on the US economic outlook, and expectations for US monetary policy
- Bloomberg Businessweek Editor Brad Stone on the LA riots and his feature story on the United States losing its moral authority across the globe
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