President Trump predicted he and Chinese President Xi Jinping would remain “friends” as the “dispute on trade” between their two countries plays out.
“China will take down its Trade Barriers because it is the right thing to do. Taxes will become Reciprocal & a deal will be made on Intellectual Property. Great future for both countries!” Trump added in a tweet Sunday morning.
President Xi and I will always be friends, no matter what happens with our dispute on trade. China will take down its Trade Barriers because it is the right thing to do. Taxes will become Reciprocal & a deal will be made on Intellectual Property. Great future for both countries!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2018
The tweet is the latest from Trump, who has long railed against the “unfair” trade relationship between the U.S. and China, stemming from a decades-long trade deficit.
“The United States hasn’t had a Trade Surplus with China in 40 years. They must end unfair trade, take down barriers and charge only Reciprocal Tariffs,” the president said in a tweet Saturday. “The U.S. is losing $500 Billion a year, and has been losing Billions of Dollars for decades. Cannot continue!” he added.
However, beyond his years of tough talk on trade with China, which included saying China had the ability to “rape” the U.S., Trump said last year he doesn’t blame China for taking advantage of the dynamic. During his first visit to China in November, Trump said, with Xi standing next to him, “Who can blame a country for being able to take advantage of another country to the benefit of its citizens?”
The White House revealed late Thursday that Trump asked his U.S. trade representative to evaluate the need for tariffs on an additional $100 billion of Chinese goods, after the U.S. recently said it would pursue tariffs on $50 billion worth of products from China.
In response, China said Friday it would “dedicate itself to the end and at any cost and will definitely fight back firmly” if the U.S. persists with the tariffs, according to the country’s commerce ministry. China had already announced earlier this week it was prepared for a retaliatory 25 percent tariff on $50 billion worth of U.S. imports including soybeans, aircraft, beef, and cars, among other things.
China is also expected to file a case against the U.S. in the World Trade Organization, just as the U.S. is preparing a WTO case against China.
The recent tit-for-tat activity follows U.S. tariffs that were imposed earlier this year on Chinese steel and aluminum, which also prompted retaliatory measures from China.
