'Progress!': Trump gives update on US-China trade deal
President Trump said Friday that the U.S. and China are making progress in their efforts to reach a comprehensive trade deal after he had a "very good talk" with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"Had a very good talk with President Xi of China concerning our giant Trade Deal. China has already started large scale [purchases] of agricultural product [and] more. Formal signing being arranged. Also talked about North Korea, where we are working with China [and] Hong Kong (progress!)," the president tweeted.
His tweet came after the two countries agreed to a "Phase One" trade deal on Dec. 13 that would reduce tariffs on some Chinese goods and could be a boon to American farmers who have been hard hit by the 19-month trade war.
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Phase One includes an agreement from China to buy $50 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products, Trump said during a Friday press briefing. But other sources say the number could be lower at around $32 billion over two years.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the two countries could sign the first phase of the deal as soon as January.
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"It’s just going through what I would consider to be a technical, legal scrub, and we’ll be releasing the document and signing it in the beginning of January," Mnuchin told reporters Thursday.