Trump: US, China have reached 'phase one' of trade deal

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The U.S. and China have agreed in principle to "phase one" of a long-sought trade pact that would bring an end to their punishing bilateral trade war, President Donald Trump announced Friday.

“We just made one of the biggest deals of all time,” Trump said in the Oval Office while hosting Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.

The deal is so large, Trump said, "that doing it in sections" makes sense to him. That could include up to four waves of deals, according to the president.

The current agreement -- not yet finalized on paper -- covers intellectual property, financial services and China's commitment to purchase up to $50 billion worth of U.S. farm products.

It could take up to five weeks to commit the agreement to paper, Trump said.

The U.S. was set Tuesday to raise tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports to 30%, but Trump said the hike will be suspended. He added that an additional tariff increase he threatened to impose on Dec. 15 is now uncertain.

The trade war between the world's top two economies, now in its 15th month, has sent shockwaves through the global economy.

Wall Street closed higher shortly after the agreement was announced.

The Dow ended the day up 319 points, with the Nasdaq up 1.3% and the S&P 500 1.1% higher.