Donald Trump risks political backlash as deal grows more likely
On Sunday night, a tuxedo-clad Donald Trump, speaking to America’s state governors at their formal ball in Washington, suggested a deal to end trade tensions with China was nearly in the bag.
“If all works well, we’re going to have some very big news over the next week or two. And it’s really been terrific,” he said. “I tell you that the whole relationship has been outstanding,” he added, saying that there was just “a little ways to go”.
A few minutes earlier, the US president had announced via Twitter that he was delaying a new escalation in tariffs on Chinese imports, set for March 1, to give more time for negotiations given how much progress had been made. Mr Trump said the final details of any deal would be thrashed out at a new summit with Xi Jinping, his Chinese counterpart, at the US president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.