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Trump Says U.S. Will Scrap Dec. 15 China Tariffs, Others Remain

Trump Says U.S. Will Scrap Dec. 15 China Tariffs, Others Remain

(Bloomberg) --

President Donald Trump said the U.S. will scrap new tariffs on Chinese goods that were scheduled to take effect next week because the two nations have reached an agreement on trade terms.

“The Penalty Tariffs set for December 15th will not be charged because of the fact that we made the deal,” Trump said in a tweet on Friday. “We will begin negotiations on the Phase Two Deal immediately, rather than waiting until after the 2020 Election.”

Trump added that existing tariffs will remain at 25%, saying Beijing agreed to many structural changes and purchases of agricultural products, energy and other U.S. goods.

Trump is touting an agreement for a “phase one” deal as a major achievement just as the House moved forward with articles of impeachment in a bid to remove him from office. While few details of the agreement have been released, the progress could bolster economic growth, Trump’s central case for his re-election in 2020.

Earlier Friday, China held a news conference to announce progress in the talks, saying the deal would address technology transfers, intellectual property and agriculture.

To contact the reporter on this story: Joshua Gallu in Washington at jgallu@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Kevin Whitelaw

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