US ‘not ready’ to make a trade deal with China, Trump says

Trump said American tariffs on Chinese goods "could go up very, very substantially, very easily.

WASHINGTON: The US isn’t ready to make a trade deal with China, President Donald Trump said while on a state visit to Japan.

"I think they probably wish they made the deal that they had on the table before they tried to renegotiate it,” Trump said at a joint press conference in Tokyo Monday alongside Japanese leader Shinzo Abe. 

"They would like to make a deal. We’re not ready to make a deal.”

Trump said American tariffs on Chinese goods "could go up very, very substantially, very easily.” His comments came after trade talks between the two countries stalled earlier this month. Each side has since blamed the other, and Trump has threatened billions more in tariffs.

Still, Trump also expressed optimism that the world’s biggest economies would eventually reach an agreement.

"I think sometime in the future China and the United States will absolutely have a great trade deal, and we look forward to that,” Trump said.- Bloomberg