After a week of trade optimism, Trump hasn’t agreed to scrap tariffs on China

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he has not agreed to roll back tariffs on Chinese goods, dampening hopes about a coming resolution to a jarring trade conflict.

“They’d like to have a rollback. I haven’t agreed to anything,” he told reporters before departing the White House on his way to Georgia. “China would like to get somewhat of a rollback, not a complete rollback because they know I won’t do it.”

U.S. stocks dropped to their session lows following Trump’s comments, as optimism had grown about the prospects of the U.S. scrapping duties.

Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson Gao Feng said on Thursday that negotiators from Washington and Beijing “agreed to remove the additional duties imposed on each other’s products in different phases after they make progress” in striking a trade deal, according to a CNBC translation. Gao did not specify how much of the tariffs the world’s two largest economies would revoke.

Source: CNBC