Mid-level talks in China that are attempting to resolve the trade conflict with the U.S. continued past the original two-day schedule, according to reports from media outlets with reporters in China. President Donald Trump, just after 8 a.m. on Jan. 8, tweeted, "Talks with China are going very well!" The editor in chief of a Chinese newspaper tweeted that he thinks the fact that they continued for a third day "sends a signal: The two sides are in serious talks and working hard to solve the disagreements between them."

Kevin Hassett, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said Jan. 3 on CNN that Apple's warning of slowed earnings growth due to falling sales in China is just the beginning. "I think that there are a heck of a lot of U.S. companies that have a lot of sales in China that are basically going to be watching their earnings be downgraded next year until we get a deal with China," he said. "If we have a successful negotiation with China, then Apple's sales and everybody else's sales will recover." Hassett said the economic fallout in China "puts a lot of pressure on China to make a deal."

President Donald Trump celebrated the revenue being collected as a result of new tariffs, while noting progress in trade talks, in a Jan. 3 tweet. "The United States Treasury has taken in MANY billions of dollars from the Tariffs we are charging China and other countries that have not treated us fairly," he said. "In the meantime we are doing well in various Trade Negotiations currently going on. At some point this had to be done!"

President Donald Trump said "big progress" is being made with China, in a tweet over the holiday weekend. "Just had a long and very good call with President Xi of China," he wrote. "Deal is moving along very well. If made, it will be very comprehensive, covering all subjects, areas and points of dispute."

President Donald Trump threatened again to shut down the U.S.-Mexico border. Last time, it was because he was angered that Central Americans were crossing through Mexico to come to the U.S. This time, it is because Democrats in the Senate are not interested in offering the $5 billion in wall construction funding he is seeking for the current fiscal year. "We will be forced to close the Southern Border entirely if the Obstructionist Democrats do not give us the money to finish the Wall & also change the ridiculous immigration laws that our Country is saddled with," he tweeted Dec. 28, continuing, "The United States [loses] soooo much money on Trade with Mexico under NAFTA, over 75 Billion Dollars a year (not including Drug Money which would be many times that amount), that I would consider closing the Southern Border a 'profit making operation.' We build a Wall or..... .....Close the Southern Border. Bring our car industry back into the United States where it belongs. Go back to pre-NAFTA, before so many of our companies and jobs were so foolishly sent to Mexico."

President Donald Trump issued a presidential proclamation Dec. 21 making changes to the tariff schedule that are set to be implemented Jan. 1. Among other changes, the proclamation formally ends African Growth and Opportunity Act benefits for Mauritania (see 1811050019), and amends the tariff schedule to clarify duty-free treatment for certain goods of Nepal under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015. Other technical and conforming changes are also being made related to the tariff treatment of guayaberas from Panama, the tariff-rate quota on tobacco products, implementation of Section 301 tariffs on China and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill. The International Trade Commission will now amend the tariff schedule to implement the changes, though the agency is operating in a limited capacity due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.

President Donald Trump predicted he'll make a "fantastic deal" with China, and, when asked by the TV interviewer how he could be so confident, said, "I know what I'm doing. It's business." He said during his "tremendous" four-hour meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Argentina, "everything was agreed on. Now if we get it down on paper, that'll be another story, but I think we will." He said the meeting was so tremendous because he's levied 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese imports and is willing to levy tariffs on all Chinese imports to get the concessions he wants. "That would be devastating for China. They have now agreed to go buy soybeans, tremendous amounts of soybeans. You see that already happening," he said.

China offered to drop its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. vehicles and grant its new, lower 15 percent most favored nation rate for the category, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal Dec. 11. The offer came in a phone call on Dec. 10, the report said. China's Commerce Ministry confirmed the call took place to Reuters and issued a short statement that said: "Both sides exchanged views on putting into effect the consensus reached by the two countries’ leaders at their meeting, and pushing forward the timetable and roadmap for the next stage of economic and trade consultations work." President Donald Trump tweeted shortly after 8 a.m. on Dec. 11, "Very productive conversations going on with China! Watch for some important announcements!" U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer was on the call, reports said. His office did not respond to a request for confirmation by press time.

President Donald Trump sounded more positive about the possibilities of ending the trade war with China after his morning tweets on Dec. 4 may have fueled a stock market sell-off. Trump, who had boasted about tariffs making America rich (see 1812040015), tweeted later that night: "Ultimately, I believe, we will be making a deal -- either now or into the future.... China does not want Tariffs!"

President Donald Trump called tariffs "the best way to max out our economic power" but also suggested negotiations with China could be extended beyond the "90 days from the date of our wonderful and very warm dinner with President Xi in Argentina," in a series of tweets Dec. 4. "President Xi and I want this deal to happen, and it probably will. But if not remember, ...... ....I am a Tariff Man," he said. "We are right now taking in $billions in Tariffs. MAKE AMERICA RICH AGAIN."