Jim Cramer
Scott Mlyn | CNBC
CNBC’s Jim Cramer said on Friday that he does not believe President Donald Trump would be willing to roll back existing tariffs on Chinese goods by half in order to get a “phase one” trade deal.
“There’s no rollback by half. That story is just not accurate,” Cramer said on “Squawk Box,” around 8:55 a.m. ET, based on his reporting. Media accounts, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, said that the U.S. proposed as part of a possible trade agreement with China to cut existing tariffs on $360 billion in Chinese products by 50%.
Trump, at 9:06 a.m. ET, seemed to confirm Cramer’s reporting. The president tweeted, “The Wall Street Journal story on the China Deal is completely wrong, especially their statement on Tariffs.”
The president met with his top advisors Thursday about trade with China and whether to delay the next round of U.S. tariffs. Duties of 15%, set to take effect Sunday, would affect about $160 billion in Chinese-made goods including toys, computers, smartphones and clothing.
China has been uncharacteristically quiet ever since news broke that the U.S. had agreed to a “phase one” trade deal in principle with the Chinese. But that will change soon. Chinese officials have been set to hold a press conference regarding the trade talks on Friday morning.