Today investors are looking forward to a speech by US President Donald Trump, who will appear at the Economic Club of New York. Though Trump is expected to discuss many aspects of his presidency, such as the tax reform, decreasing unemployment rates, and such, trade continues to be the most important issue of the hour.
Since October, the markets have been awash in optimism that the United States and China will finally begin to craft actual legislation to end their trade war. Representatives of both sides even started talking about cancelling the tariffs scheduled for December and rolling back the September duties as part of the phase-one agreement, which would serve as a foundation to a more comprehensive trade treaty.
But just as stock markets boomed on the good news, Donald Trump once more confused the markets by saying nothing has been agreed yet. His advisors also stated that there will be no rollback on any tariffs, dampening investors’ hopes. Today, the President will have a chance to elaborate on these earlier statements and bring more information about the current progress with China and whether he expects to sign a deal with Xi Jinping anytime soon.
Besides China, Trump might also address trade with the European Union. He previously threatened to impose tariffs on EU goods such as cars, though the bloc does not expect the tariffs at the moment.
The President’s speech will start around 17:00 GMT.
