U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 18th (local time) that trade talks with China are nearing a deal and that he will continue the tariff "truce" between the two countries.
Trump, who is visiting the United Kingdom, said at a joint news conference held that day in Buckinghamshire with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, "We are very close to an agreement (between the United States and China)."
He added, "We could extend (the deferral of high tariff imposition) with China, but that would be an extension based on the same terms as now. They are very good terms."
Earlier, after waging a tariff "war," the United States and China agreed at their first trade talks in Geneva, Switzerland, in May to each reduce tariff rates by 115 percentage points. They then continued talks by extending this agreement in 90-day increments.
The tariff deferral agreement is set to end on Nov. 10, and the statement indicated that even if talks with China are not completed by then, the deferral could be extended.
On the TikTok deal with China, Trump said, "The United States will receive a tremendous fee in addition. I call this a fee just for closing the deal."
The United States and China have basically agreed on a plan for a U.S. corporations to acquire a controlling equity in the short-video platform TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, and Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping plan to confirm it in a currency on the 19th.
To secure time to complete the sale of TikTok, Trump signed an executive order on the 16th extending the enforcement grace period of the "TikTok ban law" until Dec. 16.
The detailed terms of the TikTok deal have not been disclosed. However, foreign media reported that a consortium of U.S. investors, including Oracle, would establish a corporation holding about 80% equity to acquire TikTok's business rights in the United States, and that the company would be run by a U.S.-led board of directors, including one person designated by the U.S. government.
Trump said, "It will be owned by investors, all of whom are Americans," adding, "Very upright and very legal corporations, corporations that truly love the United States, will own TikTok."