Trump Extends the Deadline for China! Is the Deal within Reach or Far from Completion?
Donald Trump said that he would extend the deadline if the deal is within reach. Does that imply possibilities of closing the deal or not being able to close the deal?
This week has begun with a lower-level trade talk, led by Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish on Monday, while the high-level talk will start on Thursday and end on Friday if no extension like last time. The talk is led by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
The deadline on that the US has given is drawing near. If they cannot reach a deal before March 1, 2019, the US will impose 25% tariff on Chinese products worth 200 billion dollars.
However, the US President Donald Trump seems to be really want to close the deal as he said he would extend the deadline if both parties are near to the agreement. This generous announcement may have reflected the possibilities of the deal is almost completed, or the deal is far more than completed.
The statement from Trump came after a report of a sharp drop of iPhone sales in China in the fourth quarter by 20% when compared to the same period in 2017. On the other hand, while sales for smartphones made by home-grown rival Huawei soared by 23%.
Whether the deal is within reach or further away, the stock markets seem to have positive look on the matter, which can be seen by the rally in Wall Street last night. Dow Jones rose 372.65 points or 1.49%, S&P 500 hiked 1.29%, and Nasdaq gained 1.46%, while VIX edged lower 3.38%.
As for Asian markets at 9:15 in Thailand, NIKKEI jumped 1.39%, while other major indices are still going up and down. SSEC edged 0.04% higher, HSI gained 0.31%, KOSPI rose 0.44%, but ASX skidded 0.15%.