Trump: It’s “fine by me” if China doesn’t want to trade with the U.S.

August 1, 2019

President Trump said it’s “fine” if the U.S. can’t reach a trade agreement with China. “If they don’t want to trade with us anymore, that would be fine by me,” he told reporters as he left for a campaign rally in Cincinnati Thursday.

He said he thinks that Chinese President Xi Jinping wants to make a deal, “but frankly, he’s not going fast enough.”

Not long before his scheduled departure, the president announced he’s placing additional 10% tariffs on $300 billion in remaining Chinese goods come September, after trade talks in China with a U.S. delegation didn’t go as the administration had hoped. The announcement sent stocks spiraling, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 500 points as of 2:40 p.m.