President Trump again discounted the possibility of a quick resolution to his administration’s trade fight with China Wednesday, saying that he was not interested in offering the kind of deal that Beijing was asking for.
“We’ve done very well in our negotiation with China, but we are not prepared to make the deal they would like to make. We’ll continue to talk to China,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I have great respect for President Xi [Jinping]. He’s a really a very special guy, but right now, we cannot make that deal.”
Trump and other administration officials have previously discounted the possibility of a quick end to the trade fight, arguing it will take a while to get China to reform its policies. “I’m like them; I have a long horizon,” Trump said earlier this month. The stance has dismayed the business community, which has called for a quick end.
The president said he believed the administration’s aggressive trade policies were getting China’s attention, stating that its markets have dropped by 25 percent over the summer. “I don’t actually like to see that, but I can tell you that the United States has picked up about $10 trillion in worth, and China would like to be in our position,” he said.
Trump did not acknowledge the Commerce Department report out Wednesday that said that the U.S. had seen its the trade deficit grow 9.5 percent July to $50.1 billion, up from $45.7 billion the previous month. The shift followed China’s decision to institute retaliatory tariffs against the U.S.
The White House has placed tariffs on $50 billion’s worth of Chinese goods and tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum imports, both measures directed mainly at China. Tariffs of 25 percent on another $200 billion of Chinese goods and possible 25 percent tariffs for auto and auto parts imports are planned. China hit back by placing tariffs of between 5 and 25 percent on $60 billion worth of U.S goods.
