President Donald Trump said he would sign what he called a “very large and comprehensive” initial trade deal with China on January 15.
Trump had previously said the two leaders would have a signing ceremony for Phase One next month. Through the deal, first announced on December 13, China will increase purchases of American farm goods and be subject to lower tariffs on some goods.
The U.S. and China reached the deal after almost two years of an escalating trade war between the world’s largest economies. The U.S. said it would decrease current tariffs and cancel new tariffs. China will increase purchases of U.S. goods and services.
The White House will leave 25 percent tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods in place but halve tariffs to 7.5 percent on $120 billion in products such as smartphones.
Trump said he will go to Beijing to begin talks on the second phase of the trade deal "at a later date."
Cheddar's Chloe Aiello has our cannabis year-in-review, breaking down how several states legalized adult recreational use and greenlit medicinal use in 2021. She noted that while a cannabis legalization and decriminalization bill was introduced in Congress this year, potential FDA involvement in the industry, as well as a 25 percent excise tax, killed any chance the bill had of moving forward. Aiello also speculated that some form of cannabis reform could be rolled out in 2022, as the midterm elections draw closer.
Jim Worden, Chief Investment Officer at Wealth Consulting Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says the period between Christmas and New Year's is difficult to predict due to a lack of institutional volume, with the Omicron variant adding even more uncertainty on Wall Street.
Prices at the pump this year reached a seven-year high, and a new forecast from GasBuddy shared with CNN predicts that gas prices will only continue to rise in 2022 and that the national average could even reach $4.00 a gallon; however, analysts at GasBuddy say anything could happen when it comes to gas prices in the future, as the pandemic has made it difficult to make any predictions about the economy. Consumer Energy Alliance federal policy advisor Michael Zehr joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
David Stryzewski, CEO of Sound Planning Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says that some of the major stock positions are getting the most lift to the upside as the major indexes climb higher to begin the week.