According to the US president, Washington has yet to reach a trade agreement with Beijing because the deal is not to his liking, adding that the US has “picked up record numbers” when comparing figures to market gains since he was elected to the oval office.
President Trump: "I'm doing very well on a deal on China if I want to make it. If I want to make it. I don't think it's if they want to make it. It's if I want to make it…you're going to find out pretty soon. We'll surprise everybody." pic.twitter.com/6EGRhgPx0p
— CSPAN (@cspan) December 3, 2019
However, it was clear that the US stock market took a massive hit on Tuesday following Trump’s statement. The Dow Jones Industrial Index plummeted 280.23 points, while the S&P 500 slumped by 20.67 points, and the Nasdaq saw a decline of 47.43 points.
When asked whether he had a date in mind for the completion of the trade deal, Trump replied, “I have no deadline, no.” He also hinted that the deal may have to wait until after the 2020 US presidential election in November.
US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross echoed a similar sentiment in regard to a timetable and argued that getting a proper deal is more important than “whether it comes this December,” reported Reuters Tuesday afternoon. He went on to say that if Trump happens to lose the 2020 election, then the trade issue will be “somebody else’s problem.”
