Trump foresees 'fair trade' deal with China after halting tariffs

President Donald Trump predicted Monday that his administration will be able to strike a “fair trade” deal with China, chiding Sen. Chuck Schumer for what he said were the failings of Democrats to address the issue under President Barack Obama.

Trump was already touting on Twitter that China had agreed to purchase “massive amounts of ADDITIONAL Farm/Agricultural Products,” a development he said “would be one of the best things to happen to our farmers in many years!”

Trump’s comments come as administration officials have been sending mixed messages over the last few days, reflecting divisions among Trump's key advisers on the best approach to China.

Although high-level Chinese officials were in Washington last week to work a detente in the trade tensions, a statement over the weekend was vague on details. Most significant, the statement did not specify how much more China would buy or how soon the purchases would take place, and did not indicate whether the United States would back down from plans to impose tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese goods or remove penalties already imposed on steel and aluminum.

In an interview Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin acknowledged that the U.S. has quite a ways to go before striking a deal that would have China purchasing much more U.S. agriculture and energy products.