US affirms March 1st 'hard deadline' for China trade deal - Reuters

Joshua Gibson FXStreet

As reported by Reuters, the US has confirmed they will be seeking to secure a finalized trade deal with China before March 1st, an impossibly tight deadline that could make investors even more nervous than they already are.

Key quotes

“As far as I am concerned it is a hard deadline. When I talk to the president of the United States he is not talking about going beyond March,” (US Trade Representative) Lighthizer said on the CBS show “Face the Nation,” referring to President Donald Trump’s recent decision to delay new tariffs while talks proceed.

“The way this is set up is that at the end of 90 days, these tariffs will be raised,” said Lighthizer, who has been tapped to lead the talks and appeared to tamp down expectations that the negotiation period could be extended.

U.S. equity markets have staked much on the outcome of the talks. Stocks climbed early in the week on optimism tensions between the two sides were easing, then cratered after Trump claimed he was a “tariff man” after all. He also seemed to indicate the talks could be extended.

Author

Joshua Gibson

FXStreet

Joshua joins the FXStreet team as an Economics and Finance double major from Vancouver Island University with twelve years' experience as an independent trader focusing on technical analysis.

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