Just when you think you know what's going on in Washington, President Trump throws another wrench into the works.
While The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the Trump administration had reached a limited trade deal with China, supposedly agreeing to cancel new tariff hikes and roll back existing tariffs on some Chinese goods, Trump tweeted Friday the story was "completely wrong, especially their statement on tariffs."
The report had described the deal as something Trump was poised to sign off on. Beijing had reportedly agreed to increase purchases of U.S. farm goods, along with other concessions, in exchange for the reduced tariffs, which would have been a big step in cooling the ongoing trade war that has spooked investors and raised consumer prices.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Now, it's completely unclear what the deal includes, or if there's even a deal at all. Trump did promise a trade deal was "very close" on Thursday morning, but that's something he's said repeatedly without any agreement actually materializing. As CBS News' Weijia Jiang noted, its hard to know what to expect, especially since the White House hasn't offered any official clarification. Chinese officials aren't talking either, and local sources are calling it a "delicate situation," which should surely reassure investors. Summer Meza
-
Political cartoons for November 27Cartoons Thursday's political cartoons include giving thanks, speaking American, and more
-
We Did OK, Kid: Anthony Hopkins’ candid memoir is a ‘page-turner’The Week Recommends The 87-year-old recounts his journey from ‘hopeless’ student to Oscar-winning actor
-
The Mushroom Tapes: a compelling deep dive into the trial that gripped AustraliaThe Week Recommends Acclaimed authors team up for a ‘sensitive and insightful’ examination of what led a seemingly ordinary woman to poison four people
-
US mints final penny after 232-year runSpeed Read Production of the one-cent coin has ended
-
Warner Bros. explores sale amid Paramount bidsSpeed Read The media giant, home to HBO and DC Studios, has received interest from multiple buying parties
-
Gold tops $4K per ounce, signaling financial uneaseSpeed Read Investors are worried about President Donald Trump’s trade war
-
Electronic Arts to go private in record $55B dealspeed read The video game giant is behind ‘The Sims’ and ‘Madden NFL’
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fineSpeed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to ChinaSpeed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with DisneySpeed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
