Ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Donald Trump threatened to increase the US tariff imposition on the east Asian nation to 155 per cent, warning China against retaliatory actions against companies supporting the US economy.
This he said would levied on China unless both countries are able to advance their trade negotiations to an agreement. The move is seen is a retaliation to China’s expanding control over rare earth minerals, a key component in electric vehicles, AI servers, and smartphones.
The US President has also blamed China for affecting the trade of US farmers after it stopped soyabean purchases, stressing upon that the federal government “will not allow China to punish our farmers.”
However, Donald Trump has expressed hope over a “strong trade deal,” whilst describing their relationship as “very good”.
He said, “I am meeting with President Xi. We have a very good relationship; we are going to be meeting in South Korea in a couple of weeks… I think we are going to work out something which is good for both the countries.”
“I think when we finish our meetings in South Korea, China and I will have a really fair and really great trade deal together. I want them to buy soybeans… It’s going to be fantastic for both countries, and it’s going to be fantastic for the entire world,” he noted.
The US President’s comments came at a meeting with Australian PM Anthony Albanese at the Oval Office, where the leaders inked a multi-billion dollar agreement on critical minerals and defence cooperation.
Trump also mentioned that several countries had earlier taken advantage of the US; however, he noted that such practices were no longer tolerated.
Speaking further on his tariff tactics with China, he said, “A lot of countries took advantage of the US and they are not able to take advantage anymore. China’s paying 55 per cent and a potential 155 per cent come November 1st unless we make a deal.”
