On April 25, in an interview with Time magazine, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he had “reached 200 trade deal agreements” with trade partners and mentioned having spoken over the phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
President Trump asserted, “I have reached 200 trade deals with our trading partners.” When asked to confirm the number once more, he insisted that it was “100% accurate.”
However, the U.S. president did not specify which partners he had signed agreements with or the terms of those deals. This has raised skepticism, as there are currently only 195 countries in the world, while President Trump’s claim exceeds the number of countries that exist.
In recent weeks, President Trump has met with foreign officials at the White House to discuss tariffs and other economic issues. However, no official agreements have been announced so far.
“These deals will be finalized and announced in 3-4 weeks,” Trump told Time magazine.
Ongoing U.S.-China Trade Tensions
Regarding China, which is facing the highest tariffs from the U.S., President Trump mentioned that President Xi Jinping had called him. Currently, the U.S. is imposing tariffs of up to 145% on Chinese goods, with some products being taxed as high as 245%.
China has also retaliated by imposing tariffs of 125% on U.S. goods.
However, the White House has recently taken a softer stance on China, stating that negotiations with Beijing are “progressing in the right direction.”
In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang dismissed these claims, asserting, “The reports saying China is actively negotiating with the U.S. are fake news.”
President Donald Trump in recent days has offerred mixed messages about the status of talks with China, even as Beijing has denied that negotiations between the world’s two largest economies are taking place.