Trump Says Could Push Back March 1 Deadline For China Trade Talks To Finalize Deal

US President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he could consider pushing back the March 1 deadline for reaching a trade agreement with China if the two countries are close to a deal

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th February, 2019) US President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he could consider pushing back the March 1 deadline for reaching a trade agreement with China if the two countries are close to a deal.

"If we're close to a deal where we think we can make a real deal and it's going to get done, I could see myself letting that slide for a little while," Trump said. "But generally speaking I'm not inclined to do that."

At the G20 summit in Argentina in December, Trump and Xi agreed to a 90-day truce in their escalating trade dispute to allow room for a new agreement.

The truce is set to end on March 1.

Trump noted that a large US delegation is currently in China, and said things were going well with the negotiations.

China and the United States have been engaged in a trade war since Trump announced last June that $50 billion worth of Chinese goods would be subject to 25 percent tariffs in a bid to fix the US-Chinese trade deficit. Since then, the two countries have exchanged several rounds of trade tariffs.