President Trump said Thursday that he would make a decision on whether to impose 25% tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese goods after the G-20 summit in Japan at the end of the month. Trump is scheduled to have a face-to-face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the meeting.
“I will make that decision, I would say, over the next few weeks, probably right after the G-20,” Trump said during a visit to France Thursday to attend the 75th anniversary of D-Day. “One way or another I’ll make that decision after the G20. I’ll be meeting with President Xi and we will see what happens.”
G-20 refers to the Group of 20, the 19 countries with the largest economies and the European Union, who hold regular summits to discuss global trade, the environment, and other issues. The next summit is set for June 28-29 in Osaka, Japan. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is scheduled to meet with People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang this weekend at a preliminary gathering of G-20 representatives in Fukuoka, Japan.
“Our talks with China, a lot of interesting things are happening. We’ll see what happens … I could go up another at least $300 billion and I’ll do that at the right time,” Trump told reporters earlier Thursday in Ireland’s Shannon Airport. “But I think China wants to make a deal.”
Trade talks between the White House and China fell apart last month after the Trump administration accused Beijing of attempting to walk back concessions it made earlier in the talks. Beijing had denied it ever made the concessions in the first place.
Following the breakdown, the White House raised tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25% across the board, up from 10% in most cases, and has begun the process to institute 25% tariffs on a further $300 billion worth of goods. Those tariffs would effectively cover all imports from China, which has threatened retaliation if the administration follows through.
“If the United States willfully decides to escalate tensions, we’ll fight to the end,” China’s Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng told reporters, adding that, “We’ll adopt necessary countermeasures and resolutely safeguard the interests of China and its people.”
