U.S. President Donald trump speaks during a campaign rally in Tupelo, Mississippi, U.S., November 1, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis
Washington - US President Donald Trump suggested he could sign a long-awaited trade agreement with China in the farm state of Iowa, which has been hard hit by tariffs in a nearly 16-month trade war between the world's largest economies.
Trump said on Friday evening that negotiations about a "phase one" agreement were going well and he hoped to sign the deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a US location when work on the agreement was completed.
"Were looking at a different couple of locations. It could even be in Iowa," he told reporters at the White House. "Were discussing locations, but I like to get deals done first."
Trump said he would prefer to sign the agreement in the United States.
"I would do it in the US," he said. Asked if Xi would too, Trump said: "He would too."
He said Iowa, a key state in the 2020 presidential election in early February, would be a good location.
"Were thinking about Iowa, you know why because it would be the largest order in history for farmers. So to me, Iowa makes sense. I love Iowa. Its a possibility," Trump said.
Trump and Xi had been expected to ink the agreement at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Santiago, Chile from November 16-17, but those plans were thrown into disarray on Wednesday when Chile withdrew as host of the meeting.
