China and the Trump administration both indicated Friday that they wanted to continue trade talks despite the administration’s moves to place virtually all Chinese imports under tariff rates of 25%. A high-level meeting Friday between the countries’ top negotiators did not resolve the current dispute, but both sides nevertheless reported that progress had been made.
“Over the course of the past two days, the United States and China have held candid and constructive conversations on the status of the trade relationship between both countries. The relationship between President Xi and myself remains a very strong one, and conversations into the future will continue,” President Trump tweeted Friday.
….into the future will continue. In the meantime, the United States has imposed Tariffs on China, which may or may not be removed depending on what happens with respect to future negotiations!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2019
Trump added: “In the meantime, the United States has imposed Tariffs on China, which may or may not be removed depending on what happens with respect to future negotiations!”
Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of Chiba’s Global Times, a state-backed publication, tweeted Friday: “I learned from authoritative source that China-US trade talks didn’t break down. Both sides think that the talks are constructive and will continue consultations. The two sides agree to meet again in Beijing in the future.”
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met Friday in Washington D.C., with China’s top negotiator, Vice Premier Liu He, just hours after the administration moved to raise existing tariffs on $250 billion worth of goods to 25%, up from 10% in most cases. The White House has also said it would place 25% levies on a further $325 billion worth of goods, effectively covering all Chinese imports.
Mnuchin told reporters afterwards that while the tariff increases were still going forward, they had nevertheless had “constructive discussions.” He told CNBC that no date for any further talks had been set as of Friday.
The White House has said the tariff hikes are meant to force China to reaffirm pledges it had made in prior trade talks. The U.S. has alleged that China has tried to walk those pledges back over the last week. China has said the the U.S. demands went too far.
The Business Roundtable, an organization of corporate CEOs, said it was “deeply concerned” that further tariffs would hurt the U.S. economy. “Business Roundtable is very supportive of the Administration’s efforts to negotiate an agreement that resolves structural issues in China,” the group said in a statement. “A final agreement should take tariffs down.”
Earlier in the day, Hu tweeted, “Chinese side insists on a few core points: US side should remove all additional tariffs, amount of purchase the US requests should be in line with reality; the text of the agreement must respect sovereignty and dignity.”
Trump said early Friday that the U.S. was not in a hurry. “Talks with China continue in a very congenial manner – there is absolutely no need to rush – as Tariffs are NOW being paid to the United States by China of 25% on 250 Billion Dollars worth of goods & products. These massive payments go directly to the Treasury of the U.S.”
China’s Commerce Ministry said Friday that it “deeply regrets” the U.S. move and that it would respond, without elaborating on how.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said that the administration would protect farmers from retaliation or lost sales.
China is a major purchaser of U.S. agricultural goods. The Agriculture Department reported in late March that China had purchased 12.7 million metric tons of soybeans over the last year, down from an estimated 28.5 million over the same period last year.
