U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping will have a signing ceremony to confirm the first phase of the trade deal agreed to this month.
The “massive” agreement has already been hailed in the U.S. as it will significantly benefit small businesses, farmers, and ordinary Americans, as Breitbart News reported.
“We will be having a signing ceremony, yes,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday as he readied for a music-filled Christmas Eve service at Family Church in West Palm Beach, Florida.
“We will ultimately, yes, when we get together. And we’ll be having a quicker signing because we want to get it done. The deal is done, it’s just being translated right now.”
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on 13 December representatives from both countries would sign the Phase 1 trade deal agreement in the first week of January.
Donald Trump also flagged the progress on Twitter:
…..The Penalty Tariffs set for December 15th will not be charged because of the fact that we made the deal. We will begin negotiations on the Phase Two Deal immediately, rather than waiting until after the 2020 Election. This is an amazing deal for all. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2019
Speaking in Beijing on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said both countries were in close contact and anticipated a major announcement within days.
“Both sides’ economic and trade teams are in close communication about detailed arrangements for the deal’s signing and other follow-up work,” Mr Geng told a daily news briefing.
Beijing has not yet confirmed specific components of the deal that were released by U.S. officials.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.