Trump tweeted on Wednesday that he believed the Chinese president was ready to end their standoff
In a series of tweets on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said that there were “very strong signals" that China was ready to reach a trade deal with the United States.
On Wednesday, Trump tweeted that "very strong signals" were being sent by China regarding trade with the United States.
"Not to sound naive or anything," he added, "but I believe President Xi meant every word of what he said at our long and hopefully historic meeting."
Very strong signals being sent by China once they returned home from their long trip, including stops, from Argentina. Not to sound naive or anything, but I believe President Xi meant every word of what he said at our long and hopefully historic meeting. ALL subjects discussed!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 5, 2018
He also said that Xi had promised him that the Chinese government would crack down harder on fentanyl shipments from China to the U.S., and tweeted a quote from a Bloomberg story which said that China was ready to restart imports of U.S. products, including soybeans and natural gas.
High Chinese retaliatory tariffs on U.S. soybeans have caused the U.S. exports of soybeans to drop by as much as 97 percent. Some U.S. soybean producers have been forced to sell their beans to Iran at a discount. China had been the largest purchaser of U.S. soybeans, buying $12.25 billion worth of that product in 2017.
On Tuesday, Trump tweeted about the potential for a deal with China, before warning that if a deal wasn't reached in 90 days he would slap more tariffs on China because he was "a Tariff Man." He hyped that tariffs "will always be the best way to max out our economic power"
....I am a Tariff Man. When people or countries come in to raid the great wealth of our Nation, I want them to pay for the privilege of doing so. It will always be the best way to max out our economic power. We are right now taking in $billions in Tariffs. MAKE AMERICA RICH AGAIN
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 4, 2018
Following this tweet, Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 799 points. Markets in the U.S. were closed on Wednesday in a national day of mourning for former President George H.W. Bush.
While Trump has long championed the tariffs, even referring to them as "the greatest," they are ultimately a tax on American consumers that raise the cost of goods.
