The US and UK announced a trade agreement, while trade negotiations between the US and China are about to begin. US President Trump stated that tariffs on China could not go any higher. Encouraged by the US-UK agreement, US stocks rallied across the board on the 8th.
On the 10th, the United States and China will hold trade negotiations in Switzerland. On the 8th, US President Trump hinted at a possible reduction in the current 145% punitive tariffs imposed on China during a White House press conference.
On the 8th, Trump announced a new trade agreement with the UK at the White House. The BBC reported that the UK, the first country to complete tariff negotiations with the US, agreed to reduce import tariffs on some British cars from 25% to 10%, with a quota of 100,000 vehicles per year. In exchange, British airlines will purchase $10 billion worth of Boeing aircraft, and the UK will reduce ethanol tariffs. Furthermore, the US will grant tariff exemptions on some British steel and aluminum. Furthermore, the two countries agreed to allow tariff-free imports of up to 13,000 metric tons of beef from each other.
The Wall Street Journal pointed out that the agreement seemed to be reached in a hurry by the United States and the United Kingdom. Not only was it far from the comprehensive trade agreement that the United Kingdom had long been looking forward to, but it was more like a response to allow the United States to quickly demonstrate progress on the tariff issue.
U.S. stock indexes hit new highs for the day as Trump immediately touted the benefits of the trade deal with Britain and said he expected to reach more agreements with other countries in the coming weeks.
Next, the China-US trade negotiations also became a focus of attention. China and the United States, the two largest economies in the world, have announced that they will hold talks in Switzerland on Saturday (10th).
At a White House press conference, a reporter asked Trump if he might lower tariffs on China if negotiations go well on Saturday. He replied: "Well, it's possible."
"I mean, let's wait and see," Trump said. "Right now, it can't go any higher. It's 145 percent, so we know it's going to come down. And I think we're going to have a very good relationship going forward."
