President Trump said Friday that the U.S. and China had hammered out an agreement to address currency manipulation. China critics have long alleged that Beijing manipulates its currency in order to gain an edge in international trade.
The details of the claimed agreement were not immediately available.
“We have a deal on currency and currency manipulation,” Trump told reporters following a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He at the White House.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, speaking at the same meeting, said it was a “very strong agreement,” but indicated that details were still being worked out.
“We have a lot more work to do over the next two days.” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said. “It’s a little early for champagne.”
The announced currency deal comes as Trump is preparing to meet one-on-one with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss trade policy. Trump announced that meeting would likely happen next month at the president’s retreat at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla. Liu expressed optimism that a trade deal could be reached.
The administration has previously said that it would raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 percent, up from the current rate of 10 percent, if it doesn’t have significant progress in trade talks with Beijing by the beginning of next month, but earlier this week, Trump indicated that the deadline was no longer in effect.
