A U.S.-China trade deal could be finalized by the New Year, according to Trump’s top advisor.
The outcome will hinge on mid-November negotiations in Chile, said Peter Navarro, director of trade and manufacturing for President Trump, at the Citizen by CNN Conference in New York City Thursday morning.
“The best thing to do is to just see what happens in Chile,” he said. “It will be a good indication to see where we are… As the president says many times, we’ll either get a great deal or we won’t, we’ll see what happens.”
The APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Santiago, Chile on November 17, is part of a year-long Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum facilitating cooperation among 21 Pacific Rim economies, including the U.S. and China. The meeting, facilitated by President of Chile Sebastian Pinera, will address “emerging trade challenges and the future of cooperation between APEC [Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation] economies,” according to the event’s site.
With the presidential election approaching in 2020, China may want to wait for the outcome (and potentially a new U.S. president) instead of reaching a deal. “They [China] may play the string out, but that would be a miscalculation... They have underestimated the resolve of the president... [The Trump tariffs are] giving China the incentive to come to the bargaining table.” said Navarro. “Their [China’s] economy is hurting.”
When Jim Sciutto, chief national security correspondent for CNN, said the war is hurting the U.S. too, Navarro disagreed. “I don’t know that,” said Navarro, who emphasized that the costs of tariffs burdened by manufacturers and farmers have been offset by job growth and subsidies for farmers. A notion he has shared with Yahoo Finance.
Sarah Paynter is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @sarahapaynter
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