'There's no deal': Former Ambassador claims Trump is lying about US-China trade

Former U.S. Ambassador to China and former Commerce Secretary under President Obama, Gary Locke, railed against President Donald Trump’s comments, which claim the United States has a trade agreement with China.

“Do you believe the White House is taking this seriously?” MSNBC host Ana Cabrera asked.

“Well, obviously they're taking the conversation with President Xi Jinping very seriously and we've got to get the trade talks back on track,” Locke said. “Both sides are really. reeling from not just the not so much the tariffs, but all the countermeasures that have been aimed at each other.”

The former Commerce Secretary noted how important it is for the US to have rare earth materials, which China controls most of the world's supply.

“These are magnets that are used in the steering systems, the brake systems, the engine systems of our automobiles, but also semiconductors, manufacturing, robotics, and even our jet airplanes, military airplanes, and ballistic missiles.” Locke added, “So we've got to figure this out. We've got to get this thing resolved as quickly as possible.”

Cabrera noted the president [yesterday] kept saying that there's a deal. “But is there actually a deal based on what we know?” The anchor asked.

“No, there's no deal because the president, Xi Jinping, is not going to engage in deal-making,” the Former Ambassador to China said. “He will perhaps say, yes, we'll address some of these issues. We will look at the applications for exports of these rare earth minerals to the United States.”

Locke went on to say, “China is saying, well, we've got to be sure how these rare earth minerals are going to be used.”

“So [Xi is] going to say to the negotiators, you go figure this out, but make sure that China gets a fair deal.” He added, “So I don't believe that there is a deal made just between the two presidents.”

Watch the full segment below or click here.

- YouTubeyoutu.be