President Donald Trump on Tuesday cautioned China not to delay finalizing a trade deal until after the 2020 presidential election, threatening there would be a much tougher offer on the table or no deal at all if he wins. As American negotiators resumed talks in Shanghai, Trump admonished China for failing to keep up its promises to buy more US agricultural products and warned against a strategy of dragging out negotiations to end a trade impasse in the hopes that a Democrat --such as former Vice President Joe Biden --might win the White House.
"The problem with them waiting ... is that if & when I win, the deal that they get will be much tougher than what we are negotiating now...or no deal at all," Trump said in a series of tweets. Speaking to reporters at the White House later on Tuesday, Trump again speculated Beijing would try and wait him out believing a potential Democratic successor would agree to better terms. "I think the biggest problem to a trade deal is China would love to wait," he said on the White House lawn. "They would just love if I got defeated."
