Trump: China-US trade agreement ‘done’, subject to ‘final approval’
Trump: China-US trade agreement ‘done’, subject to ‘final approval’
M.U.H
12/06/202543
After two days of negotiations between the Chinese and US diplomats, US President Donald Trump says a trade agreement with China “is done, subject to final approval.”
“Our deal with China is done, [and] subject to final approval with President Xi and me,” Trump said on his Truth Social account on Wednesday. He added that the relationship between the world’s two leading economic powers was “excellent.”
Trump claimed that the US would impose tariffs on Chinese imports at “a total of 55%,” while China would impose tariffs on US imports at 10%.
“Full magnets and any necessary rare earths will be supplied, up front, by China. Likewise, we will provide to China what was agreed to, including Chinese students using our colleges and universities,” Trump added.
The Chinese state media reported on Wednesday that the countries had agreed to a trade “framework” during talks in London. However, there was no confirmation from China’s government about any “framework” or whether President Xi Jinping intended to sign any trade agreement.
The 55% tariff on Chinese imports is significantly higher than the 30% rate the two countries agreed upon earlier last month.
However, a White House official explained that what Trump meant by “total” is the amalgamation of the worldwide 10% baseline “reciprocal” tariff on all imports, the 20% fentanyl trafficking tariff, and the 25% pre-existing tariff on Chinese imports.
China and the US agreed in Switzerland in May to put their unprecedented tariffs of more than 100% on each other’s imports on hold for 90 days.
However, the tension between the two countries only increased with both sides accusing each other of breaking the preliminary trade agreement.
During this period, China cut its exports of critical rare earth elements to the US by half compared to the previous year, and the Trump administration said it would “aggressively revoke” the visas of Chinese students in the US. The US also restricted China’s access to its goods, such as semiconductors and other related technologies linked to artificial intelligence (AI).
The majority of economic experts say that it has been Trump’s back-and-forth trade policies that have deeply disturbed financial markets, pushed global supply chains to breaking point, sparked chaos in major ports, and significantly agitated the economic and political relationship between the US and other countries, especially China.
