President Donald Trump on Tuesday gave China a firm warning that if they intend to wait to see who wins the 2020 U.S. Presidential election before accepting any trade deal, they will be dealing with a much worse agreement if any if he wins re-election in the U.S. presidential contest.
“The problem with them waiting … is that if & when I win, the deal that they get will be much tougher than what we are negotiating now…or no deal at all,” Trump said in a post via his Twitter account.
The latest U.S.-China trade talks in Shanghai did not look promising, and according to Trump, China appears to be going back on their pledge to buy agricultural products from the U.S. The lack of goodwill associated with this gesture is frustrating for the president.
“China … was supposed to start buying our agricultural product now – no signs that they are doing so. That is the problem with China, they just don’t come through,” Trump added on Twitter.
Negotiations between the U.S. and China stalled in May, but recently resumed with a two-day meeting this week in an effort to put an end to the year-long trade war and its seeming “tit-for-tat” tariffs. While the trade war between the two largest economies in the world has wreaked havoc on financial markets around the world, there is still much to be resolved with very deep differences in opinions between the countries.
President Trump told reporters at the White House that the trade talks with China were going well, but also indicated that the United States would “either make a great deal or no deal at all. We’ll see what happens.”
China has been a main focus of Trump’s since he was campaigning for office. It was a huge part of his “America First” campaign strategy, where he vowed to increase the strength of the U.S. economy, and it helped him win the election. Trump’s strength throughout his time in the White House has been negotiating various trade deals with China as well as Europe and other countries on behalf of the U.S., with much success.
On Tuesday, Trump reiterated that he suspected that Beijing might intentionally plan to stall talks and negotiations until after the 2020 presidential election in hopes of getting a better deal with “somebody like Elizabeth Warren or Sleepy Joe Biden,” should they win.
“China is dying to make a deal with me. But whether or not I do it, is up to me. It’s not up to them,” Trump said. “China is willing to give up a lot. But that doesn’t mean I’m willing to accept it.”
