Washington (AFP) – US President Donald Trump suggested on Wednesday that a trade deal was “possible” with China — a key target in the US leader’s tariffs policy. In 2020, the United States had already agreed to “a great trade deal with China” and a new deal was “possible,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Asked about the comments, Beijing’s foreign ministry said Thursday the two countries should handle trade tensions with “mutual respect.” One month into his second term in office, Trump has threatened sweeping tariffs on allies and adversaries alike — targeting China as well as neighbors Canada and Mexico, and the European Union — and using levies as his main policy tool for lowering the massive US trade deficit. At the beginning of February, he slapped additional customs duties of 10 percent on all products imported from China.
Beijing’s foreign ministry said Thursday that China and the United States “should resolve their concerns through dialogue and consultation based on equality and mutual respect.” “Trade and tariff wars have no winners and only serve to damage the interests of people all over the world,” ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a regular press briefing.
At a separate news conference, China’s commerce ministry said Beijing “urges the US side not to wield the big stick of tariffs at every turn, using tariffs as a tool to engage in coercion all around.” Trump is also threatening to impose 25 percent tariffs on all imported cars, and similar or higher duties on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors as he turns up the heat on some of the biggest US trading partners. He also told journalists aboard Air Force One on Wednesday that his administration was considering lumber tariffs of “maybe 25 percent” in the coming months.
The president initially announced tariffs of 25 percent on all Canadian and Mexican imports, before U-turning hours before they were due to come into effect, granting a one-month reprieve in principle until March 1. He signed executive orders last week imposing new 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, due to come into effect on March 12.
Experts have warned it is often Americans who pay the costs of tariffs on US imports — not the foreign exporter. Between Washington and Beijing, “there’s a little bit of competitiveness, but the relationship I have with President Xi (Jinping) is, I would say, a great one,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. In addition to the leaders of France and Britain, Trump said Xi would also eventually be coming to Washington to meet with him.
Beijing has responded to the US tariffs with customs duties of 15 percent on coal and liquefied natural gas and 10 percent on oil and other goods, such as agricultural machinery and vehicles. China is the country with the largest trade surplus with the United States in goods — $295.4 billion in 2024, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which reports to the US Department of Commerce.
US ally Japan last week said it had asked the United States to be exempt from Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum exports, and has underlined the importance of its auto industry. Tokyo’s trade minister is arranging a visit to the United States in the coming weeks to further push for exemptions, Japanese media reported Thursday. Yoji Muto was expected to meet US officials including new commerce secretary Howard Lutnick before March 12, when the 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports were set to come into effect, Kyodo News said.
Trump’s latest remarks on tariffs came as the European Union’s trade chief vowed Wednesday that the bloc would respond “firmly and swiftly” to protect its interests if Washington imposes tariffs on EU goods. Maros Sefcovic rejected Trump’s claim that US-EU trade ties were unfair, calling them the “very definition of a win-win partnership.” But he signaled the EU’s willingness for dealmaking, such as the possibility of reducing or eliminating tariffs on autos and other products.
“If we are going to talk about lowering the tariffs, even eliminating the tariffs, let’s say for industrial products, this would be something which we are ready to discuss,” he said. Within the 27-nation EU, Germany has by far the largest trade surplus with the United States, largely thanks to its automobile industry and chemical giants such as Bayer and BASF, according to the European statistics agency, Eurostat.
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