Trump, Suddenly Criticizes China…"Broke Trade Deal with the U.S."

Korea Economic Daily

Summary

President Trump reportedly strongly criticized China for violating the trade agreement with the United States.
Although both countries mutually reduced tariffs, it was stated that there has been no progress in the trade negotiations.
It was reported that President Trump's hardline remarks could further escalate economic tensions between the U.S. and China.

U.S. President Donald Trump strongly criticized China on the 30th, stating that China violated the trade agreement it had with the United States.

President Trump wrote on SNS Truth Social, "China, unsurprisingly, has completely violated our agreement," adding, "The role of Mr. NICE GUY is over now." He explained, "Just two weeks ago, China was in a serious economic crisis; countless factories closed and there was 'civil unrest.'" He emphasized, "To prevent China from falling into a very bad situation, we urgently concluded negotiations."

President Trump did not provide details on how China failed to uphold the agreement. Previously, when President Trump imposed a 145% high tariff on China last month, China responded with a 125% tariff on U.S. goods, escalating tensions between the two countries.

However, on the 12th, both countries agreed to mutually reduce tariffs by 115 percentage points for 90 days. Accordingly, the U.S. lowered tariffs on Chinese goods to 30%, and China lowered tariffs on U.S. goods to 10%. Since then, the U.S. and China had planned to continue trade negotiations, but it is observed that there has been no progress.

Reporter Kim Joo-wan kjwan@hankyung.com