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US, China 'very close' to reaching trade deal
Putting an end to a year-long trade impasse between the United States and China, President Donald Trump said that both the countries are "very close" to reaching a deal.
Washington DC: Putting an end to a year-long trade impasse between the United States and China, President Donald Trump on Thursday said that both the countries are "very close" to reaching a deal.
Speaking in the Oval Office, the President as saying that a trade agreement, which he described as "the granddaddy of them", could be announced "within the next four week or maybe less, or maybe more, whatever it takes," describing the possible agreement as "very monumental."
However, the President refused to comment on reports over a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping that may take place later this month.
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"If we have a deal, we'll have a summit," Trump said.
"If there's no deal, we're not going to have a summit," he added.
US tariffs continue to pose a challenge to the final deal, according to NHK. While Beijing wants Washington to remove the tariffs, the US has stated that the cess will remain in place until it's completely clear that China will wholly adhere to the deal.
China reportedly proposed buying more farm products from the United States during last week's talks - the eighth of its kind - held in Beijing. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin led the US side in Beijing, while China's Vice Premier Liu He led the Chinese delegation.
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The US and China initiated the ninth round of trade talks in Washington D.C. in the wake of a trade dispute that would've originally seen the United States substantively increase tariffs on Chinese goods from March 1. President Trump has since withheld the tariff increase as talks between the two sides have been promising.
The two countries now hope to reach a final trade deal which will be signed during a late-April summit at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, according to officials.(ANI)