President Trump said that he will head to Beijing next year to begin “phase two” of trade talks with China, following a Jan. 15 signing ceremony for “phase one” of the deal.
“I will be signing our very large and comprehensive Phase One Trade Deal with China on January 15. The ceremony will take place at the White House. High level representatives of China will be present. At a later date I will be going to Beijing where talks will begin on Phase Two!” Trump tweeted Tuesday.
I will be signing our very large and comprehensive Phase One Trade Deal with China on January 15. The ceremony will take place at the White House. High level representatives of China will be present. At a later date I will be going to Beijing where talks will begin on Phase Two!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2019
The current talks involve firming up details regarding a trade agreement that was reached in October. Progress in the talks has been slow as China has been reluctant to commit details to writing and demanded the White House roll back existing tariffs. The White House has said the talks will likely have three phases.
The administration has placed tariffs of 25% on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods and 7.5% tariffs on another $120 billion worth of goods. Beijing had tariffs of up to 25% on $185 billion worth of U.S. goods.
