Trump says he will sign "Phase One" trade deal with China on January 15
Washington — President Trump will sign a "Phase One" trade deal with China on January 15 and intends to travel to Beijing for negotiations on the next phase of an agreement, he said Tuesday.
The signing ceremony for the "very large and comprehensive" deal will take place at the White House and include "high-level representatives" from China, Mr. Trump said in a tweet from Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach, Florida, estate where he has been spending the holidays.
"At a later date I will be going to Beijing where talks will begin on Phase Two!" the president tweeted.
Mr. Trump first announced in October the U.S. and China had reached an initial trade agreement, though the details of the deal were not yet finalized. The world's two largest economies have spent nearly two years engaged in a tit-for-tat trade war.
On December 13, the president again said U.S. and China agreed to a "very large" phase one deal, staving off another round of tariffs set to hit $160 billion worth of goods shipped from China beginning December 15. He said then negotiations on a "phase two deal" would begin immediately instead of after the 2020 presidential election.
The text of the preliminary agreement has not been released, and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told Fox News in an interview Monday the two sides are waiting on a translation of the English version of the 86-page deal into Chinese.
Navarro told the network the deal is "in the bag" and includes provisions addressing intellectual property theft, a "good start" on forced technology transfer and language on currency manipulation.
Mr. Trump said earlier this month in a tweet China agreed to "massive purchases" of U.S. farm products.
