US President Donald Trump’s administration expects to conclude initial tariff deals with some US trading partners within weeks, but negotiations with India are not “finish-line close” and no official talks with China are under way, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Wednesday.
Greer told Fox News that the Trump administration is focused on “targeted” deals aimed at increased market access for US exports, reducing tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers, and enhancing US economic security.
“I would say that we have deals that are, that are close,” Greer said. “As the negotiator, I don’t like to negotiate in public, but I will say we’re talking about a matter of weeks and not months, to have some initial deals announced.”
Photo: AFP
Asked whether a deal with India was imminent, Greer said it was not “finish-line close, but I have a standing call with India’s trade minister.”
He also cited frequent US-India meetings in recent days.
Greer said he would meet with representatives from Japan, Guyana and Saudi Arabia yesterday and the Philippines today, and is working closely with South Korea and the UK.
However, there were no official talks with China taking place, he said, although he held a call with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) announcing the steep “reciprocal” tariffs on April 2.
The Trump administration wants fair trade with China, Greer said.
“Instead of having an economy that’s financed by the government, we want to make real stuff and sell it, and it means we have to deal with foreign trade practices that are harmful, including in China,” Greer said.
On Wednesday, Trump reiterated there was a “very good chance we’re going to make a deal” with China.
“But we’re going to make it on our terms and it’s got to be fair,” Trump told a NewsNation “town hall.”
Meanwhile, a social media account affiliated with Chinese state media said yesterday that the US has approached China seeking talks over Trump’s 145 percent tariffs.
“The US has proactively reached out to China through multiple channels, hoping to hold discussions on the tariff issue,” Yuyuan Tantian (玉淵譚天) said in a post published on its official Weibo social media account, citing anonymous sources.
Yuyuan Tantian is not among China’s most authoritative state media outlets. The Global Times, which is owned by the newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, People’s Daily, has often been first to report China’s next steps in trade disagreements over the past few years.
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