The Trump administration’s top trade negotiators said Monday that China had in recent days abruptly withdrawn some of the commitments it had previously made in the countries’ ongoing talks, prompting President Trump to abruptly threaten to raise tariffs.
Beijing had until Friday to reaffirm those commitments, the officials confirmed Monday afternoon, or face a flat 25% tariff on all imported goods.
“The bottom line is that we felt like we were on track to get somewhere but over the course of the last week or so we have seen an erosion in commitments by China. I would say, retreating from specific commitments that had already been made in our judgment,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told reporters. “These were substantial, not minor ones.”
“We can speculate as to why that happened,” Lighthizer said. “My own view is that these were serious, real commitments that were enforceable and that some people in China objected to that.”
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that Beijing’s negotiators were trying to walk back language that been negotiated “word-by-word.” He said this became “particularly clear” over the weekend.
The officials’ comments explain Trump’s announcement on Sunday that he would hike existing tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25%, up from 10%, and place 25% tariffs on an additional 325 billion worth of good, all effective Friday. “The Trade Deal with China continues, but too slowly, as they attempt to renegotiate. No!” he tweeted.
Beijing said Monday that it was still planning on sending negotiators to the U.S. for scheduled trade talks this week despite Trump’s threat.
“We are also in the process of understanding the relevant situation. What I can tell you is that China’s team is preparing to go to the United States for the discussions,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is scheduled to travel to Washington, D.C., Thursday to continue talks.
