Trump Vents Frustration With Trade Czar as China Talks Continue
- China hawk Robert Lighthizer has been leading trade talks
- March 1 deadline for tariff increase looms ever closer
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President Donald Trump and his top trade negotiator, Robert Lighthizer, have grown increasingly frustrated with each other as a China trade deal stays elusive with a key deadline less than a week away, said people inside and close to the administration.
The exasperation between the two erupted into the open during an unusual public exchange in front of China’s top negotiator, assembled U.S. officials and journalists on Friday, during which Trump took issue with Lighthizer’s explanation that any deal would take the form of a memorandum of understanding.