US gives China one month for trade deal as talks deadlocked

Bloomberg

US President Donald Trump’s administration told China it has a month to seal a trade deal or face tariffs on all its exports to the US, even as both sides sought to avoid a public breakdown in negotiations despite a developing stalemate.
The threat was made during talks in Washington, hours after Trump upped the ante by imposing a second round of punitive duties on $200 billion in Chinese goods. The talks are under close scrutiny across global financial markets, and US stocks turned positive after negotiators on both sides said the session had gone fairly well.
In a series of tweets that cheered markets, Trump declared that the talks with China had been “candid and constructive.” “The relationship between President Xi and myself remains a very strong one, and conversations into the future will continue,” he said. Further talks are possible, but there’s no immediate plan for the next round, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.
Earlier, in a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, US officials laid out their bottom line, telling him that Beijing had three or four weeks to agree to a deal or face additional 25% tariffs on a further $325 billion in exports to the US, according to people familiar with the talks. The threat came in response to the lack of any meaningful concessions by China during two days of meetings, the people said.
In a statement, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the administration would release details of its plans for tariffs on roughly $300 billion in imports from China on Monday, setting the process in motion for Trump to deliver on his latest threat.
The lack of progress left major question-marks hanging over the search for a deal on trade — just one source of tensions in a growing geopolitical rivalry that’s already shifting supply chains and testing established economic and security alliances.
In an interview with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, Liu said both sides agreed to keep talking despite what he called “some temporary resistance and distractions,’’ and to hold future meetings in Beijing. He dismissed the idea that talks had broken down. “It’s normal to have hiccups during the negotiations. It’s inevitable.”
He also struck a note of defiance. “For the interest of the people of China, the people of US and the the people of the whole world, we will deal with this rationally,’ the vice premier said.
“But China is not afraid, nor are the Chinese people,” adding that “China needs a cooperative agreement with equality and dignity.”