President Trump working on larger trade deals, will extend beyond tariffs
Two Trump administration sources told FOX Business that the president is working on larger trade deals with countries, not ones just involving tariffs.
Two Trump administration sources told FOX Business Monday that the president is working on larger trade deals with countries and that is why it is taking longer to hear announcements from the White House.
The sources added that the deals go beyond lowering the Trump administration’s latest tariffs.
Japan, Vietnam, Argentina, the United Kingdom, South Korea and the European Union are most often mentioned by President Donald Trump and his trade team.
The White House said last week it had "18 proposals on paper" sent to its trade team, but did not elaborate on which countries are submitting offers.
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"There is a lot of progress being made. We now have 18 proposals on paper that have been brought to the trade team. Again, these are proposals on paper that countries have proposed to the Trump administration and to our government," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, reports say China is weighing whether to exempt some American imports from its 125% tariffs as the economic fallout in its ongoing trade war with Washington becomes more apparent. A Ministry of Commerce task force is collecting lists of items that could be exempted from tariffs and is asking companies to submit their own requests, according to Reuters.
China declared last week it was not negotiating with the U.S. over tariffs, despite Trump recently suggesting the 145% tax on its imports could be reduced "substantially."
Ministry of Commerce spokesman He Yadong said, "Any claims about the progress of China-U.S. trade negotiations are groundless as trying to catch the wind and have no factual basis," according to the Associated Press.
However, Trump told reporters Thursday that, "We may reveal it later, but they had meetings this morning, and we've been meeting with China."
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The president declined to elaborate when asked about who "they" was.
FOX Business’ Bradford Betz, Bonny Chu and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
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