President Trump said Wednesday China wants to reach a trade deal with the United States. He also predicted that a deal with Mexico to avoid creating new tariffs on its products was also likely and could happen soon.
“As far as China is concerned, China wants to make a deal. I have no doubt about it,” Trump said Wednesday during a meeting in Ireland with Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. “Every signal is that they want to and, at the right time, that will probably happen.”
China has assailed the U.S. trade strategy in recent editorials in state-run publications. On Tuesday, its Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a travel warning to Chinese citizens that U.S. law enforcement agencies were liable to “harass” them. Its Ministry of Culture and Tourism warned Chinese citizens of “shootings, robberies and thefts happening frequently in the U.S.”
Trade talks between the U.S. and China fell apart last month following White House accusations that Beijing tried to walk back concessions it made at the last minute, a claim China has denied.
Trump also said Wednesday: “Mexico you know wants to make a deal. They have their entire delegation right now going over to, probably, the White House to negotiate with our people.”
The president was referring to talks scheduled for that day in Washington, D.C., between Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Trump said that Mexico had to crack down on immigration and drugs “swamping” to the U.S. “Otherwise we will not be able to do business.”
“We’ll see what happens today,” the president said.
Trump said Thursday he would place a 5% tariff on all Mexican goods, increasing 5% every month until the “illegal immigration problem is remedied.” Business groups and GOP lawmakers have called on the president to back away from the threats, saying the tariffs would likely harm the U.S. economy without resolving the border issue. Mexico has warned of possible trade retaliation of its own.
