President Donald Trump has injected a little uncertainty into the situation relative to the phase-one agreement with China, telling a television station in Ohio that the deal will be signed on January 15 or perhaps shortly thereafter.
"We are going to be signing on January 15th - I think it will be January 15th, but shortly thereafter, but I think January 15th - a big deal with China,” Trump told the ABC affiliate. There was no clarification of the comment issued by the White House and it comes after China confirmed that Vice Premier Liu He would be leading a delegation to Washington January 13-16 to sign the deal in Washington.
As for phase two, Trump reiterated Thursday that he could wait until after the 2020 election to reach a phase-two accord with China. Trump said he thinks he could get a better deal if he waits until after his November reelection bid. The president said his administration will start “right away” negotiating the next piece of an agreement after striking the phase-one deal. But he said “it will take a little time” to finish an phase-two accord and suggested he could have more leverage after his reelection bid in November.
“I think I might want to wait to finish ’til after the election, because by doing that, I think we can actually make a little bit better deal, maybe a lot better deal,” Trump told reporters at the White House.