Trump, Commerce Secretary Send Signal That China Deal Can Wait

U.S. President Donald Trump (C) talks to reporters with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross (R) during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, on Feb. 12, 2019. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross on Dec. 3 backed President Donald Trump’s remarks earlier today that a trade deal with Beijing might have to wait until after the 2020 presidential election.

Waiting until the election in November 2020 to sign a trade agreement “takes off the table something that they [Beijing] may think gives them some leverage,” Ross told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.”