Trump predicts trade deal with China, vows '100%' chance of EU agreement
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says his administration is in trade talks with Beijing and he is confident they can reach an agreement, as soon as next month.
Trump says he expects to reach trade agreements with China and the European Union soon, with the latter one coming before the end of a 90-day pause on tit-for-tat tariffs between the trading partners.
"There will be a trade deal 100%," Trump said of a deal with the EU ahead of an April 17 luncheon at the White House with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. "They want to make one very, very much. And we're going to make a trade deal. I fully expect it. But it will be a fair deal."
Trump's administration has said that more than 75 nations have sought to make new trade agreements with the U.S. since the president announced his reciprocal tariff plan in early April. At least 15 have submitted proposals, the White House has said.
A Japanese trade delegation met with Trump and members of his administration on April 16. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said South Korea would also be visiting next week and that talks with India are also moving fast.
As to whether the EU is a priority for the administration, Trump told reporters: "Everybody's on my priority list."
Trump also said he was not worried that U.S. allies were growing closer with China as a result of tariffs and predicted the United States would also make a "very good" trade deal with Beijing.
"Nobody can compete with us. Nobody," Trump said in the Cabinet Room.
He told reporters later in the day, as he signed executive orders, that China had repeatedly reached out to his administration. Trump would not say who in the Chinese government the United States was speaking to and whether he'd spoken to President Xi Jinping directly.
"It's not that important, because honestly, we're going to have a deal, I believe we're going to have a deal with China. And if we don't, we're going to have a deal anyway, because we're going to set a certain target, and that's going to be it," he said.
At the White House earlier in the day, Meloni said she had confidence that a trade deal could be reached with the EU. "I'm sure we can make a deal, and I'm here to help with that," she said.
"I cannot deal in the name of the European Union," Meloni added. "My goal would be invite President Trump to pay an official visit to Italy and to understand if there's a possibility when he comes to organize also such a meeting with Europe."
Meloni also said that she believes the best way to negotiate is to "simply speak frankly" about the needs that each party has and she was at the White House to "find the best way" to make them both stronger.
"We're going to have very little problem making a deal with Europe or anybody else, because we have something that everybody wants," Trump responded.
Meloni the first European leader to meet with Trump since he imposed a blanket tariff on most nations. He put a further reciprocal tariff on the EU that is currently paused for 90 days while trade negotiations take place. The EU temporarily halted planned retaliatory tariffs in response.
The Italian prime minister, who belongs to the conservative Brothers of Italy party, said she considers the U.S. to be a reliable trading partner. She said she was at the White House to "make the West stronger" and support Western unity. "I think simply we have to talk," she said. "And find ourselves in the best middle way to grow together.
She added: "If I wouldn't think it's a reliable partner, I wouldn't be here."
The two leaders continued talks in the Oval Office after their luncheon. They indicated they would be discussing Russia's war against Ukraine and defense spending. Trump has called for every NATO member nation to spend 5% of their GDP on defense.
Trump has yet to meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen since taking office. However, the EU's trade chief held talks in Washington with his U.S. counterparts earlier in week. The United States had a substantial trade deficit of $235.6 billion with the bloc in 2024, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. It was second only to China, which has a $295.4 billion deficit and Trump hit with 145% tariff hike.
That amount includes tariffs Trump put on China near the beginning of his term that are in response to illegal fentanyl production.
Trump is not known to have spoken to China's Xi since the trade war began although he suggested to reporters during this executive order signing that he had. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China hit the U.S. with a 125% tariff in April in response to Trump's retaliatory tariffs but says it would not respond to further hikes, if import fees on its goods were to increase.
"At a certain point, I don't want them to go higher, because at a certain point, you make it where people don't buy," Trump said in the Oval Office. "I may to go to less, because you know, you want people to buy."
(This story has been updated with more information.)