On Friday, markets in the US went down by over 2 per cent after Trump administration signalled tariffs on an additional $100 billion of Chinese imports.
In this file photo taken on 3 April 2018, US President Donald Trump speaks in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC. (Photo: AFP PHOTO / Olivier Douliery)
US President Donald Trump took the ongoing US-China trade war to the next level by calling it “stupid”. In a tweet posted on 9 April, trump drew a comparison between the tariff charged by the United States and that by China on cars.
“When a car is sent to the United States from China, there is a Tariff to be paid of 2.5 per cent. When a car is sent to China from the United States, there is a Tariff to be paid of 25 per cent. Does that sound like free or fair trade. No, it sounds like STUPID TRADE – going on for years!” wrote Trump.
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When a car is sent to the United States from China, there is a Tariff to be paid of 2 1/2%. When a car is sent to China from the United States, there is a Tariff to be paid of 25%. Does that sound like free or fair trade. No, it sounds like STUPID TRADE – going on for years!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 9, 2018
His remark came less than 24 hours after he hailed his ‘friendship’ which Chinese President Xi Jinping in spite of the “dispute on trade”.
“China will take down its Trade Barriers because it is the right thing to do. Taxes will become Reciprocal & a deal will be made on Intellectual Property. Great future for both countries!” he asserted in a tweet signalling that an end to the dispute was in sight.
President Xi and I will always be friends, no matter what happens with our dispute on trade. China will take down its Trade Barriers because it is the right thing to do. Taxes will become Reciprocal & a deal will be made on Intellectual Property. Great future for both countries!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2018
On Friday, markets in the US went down by over 2 per cent after Trump administration signalled tariffs on an additional $100 billion of Chinese imports.
Not the one to back down, China said that it will stand firm “until the end at any cost”.
Some global investors have, however, taken solace from signals that the Trump administration may be taking a harsh line as a bargaining tactic towards deal-making with China.
In the wake of Trump’s decision in March to impose steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, primarily to target China, the United States on Tuesday published a list of $50 billion in Chinese goods to be hit by tariffs over what Washington says is widespread theft of intellectual property and technology.
China retaliated by unveiling planned levies on $50 billion worth of major US exports including soybeans, cars and small aircraft. Trump hit back again late Thursday, instructing trade officials to consider the additional levies on $100 billion in imports.
Trump accused China of trying “to harm our farmers and manufacturers” rather than rectify “its misconduct”.
So far, only the tariffs on steel and aluminum have taken effect. US businesses, and farm states most vulnerable to Chinese retaliation, have called for restraint.
China has filed two complaints at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) claiming the United States has violated global trading rules, a charge the White House dismissed.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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