US economy

Trump Doubles Down on China Threat as Trade Talks Resume


President Trump doubled down on his trade war threats with China on Friday morning, hours after raising tariffs on $200 billion worth of the country’s imports, as he tried to pressure Beijing to agree to America’s trade terms.

In a series of early morning tweets, the president said tariffs on Chinese goods will help the United States and warned China that he would continue to tax their products if they didn’t reach a deal.

“Tariffs will make our Country MUCH STRONGER, not weaker. Just sit back and watch!” Mr. Trump added, adding that the Chinese “should not renegotiate deals with the U.S. at the last minute.”

The comments come as his top trade negotiators plan to meet again with Chinese officials to try to salvage a trade deal that has fallen apart in recent weeks. The president said Friday that talks with China continued “in a very congenial manner” and that “there is absolutely no need to rush.”

His comments suggest the United States is not willing to back off its demands that China make structural changes that its government is so far reluctant to do.

Economists have almost uniformly rejected the president’s arguments that tariffs are good for the United States, saying that these taxes reduce economic activity by raising prices for consumers. While the administration has channeled funds to help farmers hurt by the trade war in the past, economists say this process is less efficient than merely opening foreign markets to trade.

“Make no mistake about it, we have already had preliminary discussions in the White House for additional support for farmers if this impasse with China continues,” Mike Pence, the vice president, said in remarks on Thursday in Minnesota.

The United States and China had been nearing a trade deal that would lift tariffs, open the Chinese market to American companies and strengthen China’s intellectual property protections. But discussions fell apart last weekend, when China called for substantial changes to the negotiating text that both countries had been using as a blueprint for a sweeping trade pact.

Businesses large and small to braced for fallout, as tariffs on an additional $200 billion of Chinese goods went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday morning. The tariffs will apply only to goods that have left China after that time, effectively giving several weeks’ extension for products that are already on ships on the water.



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