Iowa may play role in US-China trade deal
Iowa is a long way from Chile but the state could be the site where the U.S.and the Chinese end up signing Phase One of their historic trade deal if President Trump gets his way.
"We're thinking about Iowa," Trump said while fielding questions from reporters as he headed to his Friday night rally in Mississippi. "I want to get the deal done first" he noted.
Iowa is the country’s 2nd largest agricultural exporting state, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, exporting in total over $14 billion of American made goods in 2018 including soybeans and corn.
Trump said signing the deal in the state would be a big score for farmers.
"It would be the largest order in history for farmers, to me Iowa makes sense, its a possibility." He also indicated that talks were going well and that "China wants to make a deal very much."
Navarro: US-China trade deal will take 3 phases
Speaking on FOX Business Friday, top trade advisor Peter Navarro indicated the deal with China will span three phases.
Earlier this week, Trump provided some early details on the first leg of the tentative deal.
"We are looking probably to be ahead of schedule to sign a very big portion of the China deal, we'll call it Phase One but it's a very big portion,'' he told reporters before leaving for Chicago. "That would take care of the farmers. It would take care of some of the other things. It'll also take care of a lot of the banking needs" he said.
Trump: US-China trade deal's phase one ahead of schedule
Chile abruptly scrapped plans to host the APEC summit this week citing protests and security concerns as the country grapples with unrest over the failure of the government's economic reforms. The U.S. and China were widely expected to sign the Phase One deal at the summit.
An anti-government protester throws a rock at police in Santiago, Oct. 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
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At the time, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley said:
“As of now, it appears APEC will not occur in Chile, and it's our understanding the organization does not currently have a secondary site prepared. We’re awaiting potential information regarding another location.”
ON PHASE ONE OF THE HISTORIC TRADE DEAL WITH CHINA:
“We look forward to finalizing Phase One of the historic trade deal with China within the same time frame, and when we have an announcement, we’ll let you know.”