President Donald Trump Friday said he has not agreed to the rollbacks of U.S. tariffs sought by China, sparking fresh doubts about when the world's two largest economies may end a 16-month trade war that has slowed global growth. Trump also remarked he has not yet approved the phase one deal negotiators are working on.
"I have not agreed to anything," Trump said. "China would like to get somewhat of a rollback, [but] not a complete rollback because they know I will not do it." The Financial Times reported last week the White House was considering rolling back levies on $112 billion of Chinese goods.
Meanwhile, there continue to be different views expressed by White House officials on the topic. National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow told Bloomberg that any phase one deal would include "tariff agreements and concessions." However, Peter Navarro, a White House trade adviser, slammed the media for reporting that the tariff removal was in the cards. Navarro said the media was relying on sources "without direct knowledge of the negotiations" -- even though Kudlow publicly mentioned the possibility of concessions.
Navarro also reprised his view that some reporters were being duped by "propagandists within the Chinese government." He also said China was trying to "negotiate in public" and said if the U.S. gave up any existing tariffs, Washington would not have leverage ahead of further phases of the talks.
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