Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said he is optimistic the U.S. would reach a “Phase One” trade deal with China this month and said licenses would be coming “very shortly” for American companies to sell components to Huawei Technologies, adding that the government received 260 requests.
“You will not have a deal on anything until you have a deal on everything,” Ross told the Financial Times in Bangkok. “But we are quite optimistic that the remaining issues for the phase one can be closed out.”
China also gave a positive readout on the situation. U.S. and Chinese trade officials were able to reach a “consensus on principles,” according to a statement released Friday by China’s Commerce Department. The negotiators moved on to begin discussing Phase Two, the Chinese said.
As for a location for a signing of the agreement, Ross said Iowa, Alaska, Hawaii and locations in China are all possible places for President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to sign the deal after the cancellation of this month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Chile due to unrest in the country.
President Trump also mentioned the possibility of Iowa for the meeting in remarks on Friday — Trump reportedly wants to make sure the signing takes place in the U.S.
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