Wilbur Ross: US needs proper deal with China

Comments by US commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross

• US is in a better negotiating position as time goes by
• There have been good discussions with China on intellectual property
• "Phase One" deal will leave most hard issues for later
• "Phase One" deal will be largely about agriculture and trade
• After US completes China, USMCA deal, easy to turn attention to UK trade

When asked about the 15 December tariffs, he said "it is more important to a good deal for the US". The comments certainly don't sound like they are in a hurry to get a deal any time soon - but it isn't suggestive that tariffs will be enacted at the end of this week either.

As mentioned earlier, the worst-case scenario for markets is that Trump doesn't go through with tariffs this week but keeps the threat of delivering them if they can't reach an agreement in the near future.

That will prolong this "will they, won't they?" situation for a few more weeks/months and essentially there isn't much clear direction to work with.