Trump Says China Is Violation of the Tariff Truce

Trump alleges China violated the tariff truce, but the US trade representative warns that non-tariff barriers could jeopardize the 90-day tariff moratorium.

President Donald Trump hinted at a possible return to trade tensions between the two biggest economies in the world on Friday when he accused China of breaking a two-week-old deal to remove tit-for-tat tariffs.

Both parties agreed earlier this month to postpone certain of their punitive duties for ninety days in accordance with the May agreement reached in Geneva.

Trump claimed in a Truth Social post on Friday that tariffs had put China in “severe economic danger” prior to the two nations reaching a “quick agreement.”

But without providing an explanation, he said that China had “totally violated its agreement with us.”

In a subsequent statement, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer explained that although China had lifted the agreed-upon tariffs, it had not yet lifted other trade restrictions imposed on the US.

According to him, China implemented countermeasures like placing some US companies on blacklists and limiting the flow of rare earth commodities after retaliating with its own levies.

“They eliminated the tariff just as we did, but they have slowed down on some of the countermeasures,” Ambassador Greer stated.

The US had been closely monitoring China to ensure that it would adhere to the agreement, he added, and they were “very concerned” with the developments.

The Chinese are slowly complying, which is totally wrong and needs to be handled, Greer added, adding that “the United States did exactly what it was supposed to do.”

Beijing has not yet reacted to the accusations. Its foreign ministry refused to comment on Friday when US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that trade negotiations with China had reached a “stalemate.”

Moreover, Bessent had stated that he “believes that considering the scope of the negotiations, considering the intricacy, that this will necessitate leaders of both nations to consult with one another.”

A decision that Trump had overreached his power handed a setback to his global tariff regime on Wednesday. Following an appeal by the White House, his intentions were temporarily resurrected.

This week, his administration also took action to cancel the visas of over 280,000 Chinese students studying in the US. After a White House appeal, a federal court temporarily halted the ruling that Trump had overreached himself on tariffs.

While Bessent acknowledged that negotiations on a new agreement had stalled, he emphasized that they were still ongoing.

“I think we’ll be talking with China more in the coming weeks, and I think the president and Chinese President Xi Jinping might at some point have a call,” Besset stated on Thursday.

The two possessed “a very good relationship,” he continued, adding that he was “confident that the Chinese will come to the table when President Trump makes his preferences known.”

The agreement reached earlier this month saw the US reduce taxes on Chinese imports from 145% to 30%.

On US imports, China’s punitive taxes decreased from 125% to 10%.

According to the US president, putting tariffs on foreign goods would encourage Americans to purchase more products created in the US, which would boost tax income and create manufacturing employment.

In its efforts to close trade deficits with other countries, the Trump administration has utilized them as negotiating leverage.

In Washington on Friday, a Japanese delegation is still negotiating trade with their US counterparts.

Although “a couple of them are more complicated,” Bessent claimed that “a couple” of US trade agreements were “very close.”

After the US Court of International Trade decided that Trump had overreached himself by enforcing the taxes, his tariff policy is still in jeopardy.

Some analysts think it will imply that nations won’t rush to sign trade agreements with the United States.

The White House’s request to temporarily halt the lower court’s ruling was approved by a federal appeals court, which Trump called “horrific.”

“Hopefully, the Supreme Court will swiftly and decisively overturn this terrible, country sic-threatening ruling,” he posted on his Truth Social platform.