During a brief meeting with reporters following the first part of his White House meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, President Trump said the two were making good progress toward an agreement to keep the US from walking away from the Iran deal.
Then Trump’s comments quickly turned to the subject of the US’s simmering trade war with China, with the president revealing that there’s a “good chance” the US will reach an agreement to quash the trade beef in the near future.
Trump affirmed that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin would head to China in a few days to conduct face-to-face negotiations with senior Chinese officials.
Trump added that the US is engaged in serious trade talks with the EU, and that negotiations with Mexico and Canada over the North American Free Trade agreement were progressing nicely.
Speaking on Saturday in Washington at the IMF’s spring meeting, Mnuchin said he’s “cautiously optimistic” of reaching an agreement with China on trade. Still, any possibility of a quick truce remains remote, Mnuchin admitted, saying “I’m not going to make a comment on timing, nor do I have anything confirmed.”
On Sunday, China’s Commerce Ministry responded that it welcomes plans by top US officials to travel to China to negotiate on trade.
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