Trump says US has signed a deal with China on trade, without giving details
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg TV that the deal was signed earlier this week. Neither Lutnick nor Trump provided any details about the agreement.
'We just signed with China the other day,' Trump said late Thursday.
Lutnick said the deal was 'signed and sealed' two days earlier.
It follows initial talks in Geneva in early May that led both sides to postpone massive tariff hikes that were threatening to freeze much trade between the two countries. Later talks in London set a framework for negotiations and the deal mentioned by Trump appeared to formalize that agreement.
'The president likes to close these deals himself. He's the dealmaker. We're going to have deal after deal,' Lutnick said.
China has not announced any new agreements, but it announced earlier this week that it was speeding up approvals of exports of rare earths, materials used in high-tech products such as electric vehicles. Beijing's limits on exports of rare earths have been a key point of contention.
The Chinese Commerce Ministry said Thursday that Beijing was accelerating review of export license applications for rare earths and had approved 'a certain number of compliant applications.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Trump Is Expected to Sign His Huge Bill of Tax and Spending Cuts at the White House July 4 Picnic
President Donald Trump is expected to sign his package of tax breaks and spending cuts into law Friday after his cajoling produced almost unanimous Republican support in Congress for the domestic priority that could cement his second-term legacy. Against odds that at times seemed improbable, Trump achieved his goal of celebrating a historic – and divisive – legislative victory in time for the nation's birthday. Fighter jets and stealth bombers are to streak the sky over the annual White House Fourth of July picnic where Trump plans to sign the bill. 'The legislation,' the president said, 'is going to make this country into a rocket ship. It's going to be really great.' Democrats assailed the package as a giveaway to the rich that will rob millions more lower-income people of their health insurance, food assistance, and financial stability. 'I never thought that I'd be on the House floor saying that this is a crime scene,' Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said during a record-breaking speech that delayed the bill's passage by eight-plus hours. 'It's a crime scene going after the health and the safety and the well-being of the American people.' The legislation extends Trump's 2017 multi-trillion dollar tax cuts and cuts Medicaid and food stamps by $1.2 trillion. It provides for a massive increase in immigration enforcement. Congress' nonpartisan scorekeeper projects that nearly 12 million more people will lose health insurance under the law. The legislation passed the House on a largely party-line vote Thursday, culminating a months-long push by the GOP to cram most of its legislative priorities into a single budget bill that could be enacted without Senate Democrats being able to block it indefinitely by filibustering. It passed by a single vote in the Senate, where North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis announced he would not run for reelection after incurring Trump's wrath in opposing it. Vice President JD Vance had to cast the tie-breaking vote. In the House, where two Republicans voted against it, one conservative maverick, Tom Massie of Kentucky, has also become a target of Trump's well-funded political operation. The legislation amounts to a repudiation of the agendas of the past two Democratic presidents, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, in rolling back Obama's Medicaid expansion under his signature health law and Biden's tax credits for renewable energy. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the package will add $3.3 trillion to the deficit over the decade and 11.8 million more people will go without health coverage. Trump exulted in his political victory Thursday night in Iowa, where he attended a kickoff of events celebrating the country's 250th birthday next year. 'I want to thank Republican congressmen and women because what they did is incredible,' he said. The president complained that Democrats voted against the bill because they 'hate Trump – but I hate them too.' The package is certain to be a flashpoint in next year's midterm elections, and Democrats are making ambitious plans for rallies, voter registration drives, attack ads, bus tours, and even a multiday vigil, all intended to highlight the most controversial elements. Upon his return to Washington early Friday, Trump described the package as 'very popular,' though polling suggests that public opinion is mixed at best. For example, a Washington Post /Ipsos poll found that majorities of US adults support increasing the annual child tax credit and eliminating taxes on earnings from tips, and about half support work requirements for some adults who receive Medicaid. But the poll found majorities oppose reducing federal funding for food assistance to low-income families and spending about $45 billion to build and maintain migrant detention centers. About sixty percent said it was unacceptable that the bill is expected to increase the $36 trillion US debt by more than $3 trillion over the next decade.
Saudi Gazette
3 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
Saudi leadership congratulates President Trump on U.S. Independence Day
Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz has sent a cable of congratulations to U.S. President Donald Trump on the occasion of his country's Independence Day, wishing him continued good health and happiness, and expressing hope for ongoing prosperity for the American people. In his message, King Salman praised the close and evolving relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States, highlighting the deep-rooted ties that continue to strengthen cooperation across various fields. Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman also sent a separate congratulatory message to President Trump, extending similar wishes for health and success, and reaffirming the Kingdom's commitment to enhancing the longstanding friendship between the two nations.
Al Arabiya
3 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
China Imposes Anti-Dumping Duties on European Brandy as Trade Tensions Rise
China imposed anti-dumping duties on European brandy, most notably cognac produced in France, on Friday, as trade tensions between Beijing and US allies continue to rise. The tariffs, effective on Saturday, will range from 27.7 percent to 34.9 percent, China's Commerce Ministry said. They are to be in place for five years and will not be applied retroactively. Chinese authorities agreed to exempt some major cognac makers on condition they maintain their prices above minimum levels. The announcement came during a European visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi aimed at ironing out trade differences. Wang was set to visit Paris after stops in Brussels and Berlin. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said he will discuss the issue with Wang when the pair meet later Friday. The anti-dumping duties are the result of a probe China launched last year into European brandy after the European Union undertook a probe into Chinese electric vehicle subsidies. 'The investigative authority finally ruled that the dumping of related imported brandy from the EU has existed,' read a statement by China's Commerce Ministry. 'The domestic brandy industry faces a material threat of damage, and there is a causal relationship between the dumping and the substantial damage threat.' Besides cognac, China has also launched investigations into European pork and dairy products. The brandy probe was the first and targeted mainly French makers of cognac and similar spirits, such as Armagnac. China initially announced provisional tariffs of 30.6 percent to 39 percent on French cognac producer Remy Martin and other European brandies after a majority of EU countries approved duties on electric vehicles made in China. Exemptions include French producers Pernod Ricard, Remy Cointreau, and Hennessy. In a written statement, Barrot praised the broad scope of exemptions as 'a positive step for many players in the cognac and armagnac industry.' He noted that 'several important points remain unresolved, in particular the exclusion of certain players from the scope of exemptions.' 'We remain fully committed to finding a definitive solution based on the conditions that existed prior to the investigation,' Barrot added. Wang's European tour comes ahead of a China–EU summit to be focused on trade later this month in Beijing.
