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President Trump said on Thursday he had received “a beautiful letter” from Chinese President Xi Jinping and may speak to him by phone, though Trump did not say whether that would occur before a scheduled increase in tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods takes effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday.
The president said Xi’s message was: “Let’s work together. Let’s see if we can get something done.”
Robert E. Lighthizer, the chief U.S. trade negotiator, is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. Thursday with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He to continue negotiations aimed at a comprehensive deal.
Those talks had been proceeding smoothly, with U.S. officials predicting a final accord could be agreed to as soon as this week.
But China last weekend angered the president by trying to water down its commitments, according to Lighthizer. Chinese officials balked at specifying in the agreement which laws would be amended to address U.S. concerns over forced technology transfer and intellectual property protection, U.S. officials said.
“The vice premier is coming here today. We were getting very close to a deal, and then they started to renegotiate the deal. We can’t have that,” the president said, following a White House event on preventing surprise medical bills. “It was their idea to come back.”
Trump said he expected “a very strong day” at the negotiating table, but added “our alternative is an excellent one,” an apparent reference to the tariff increase.
China has vowed to retaliate “in kind” if the president proceeds with the increase to 25 percent from 10 percent on $200 billion in Chinese products.
Along with the increase scheduled for Friday, the president has also threatened to extend tariffs to all $540 billion in annual Chinese imports.
The president frequently boasts about the revenue the federal government receives from higher tariffs, a tax increase that is paid by U.S. importers.
Though most economists say such a broadening of the trade conflict would inflict serious damage on both economies, the president insists his tariffs helped the U.S. economy grow at a 3.2 percent annual rate in the first quarter.
“I’m different than a lot of people . . . I happen to think that tariffs for our country are very valuable,” Trump said.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was down more than 180 points, or 0.7 percent, in early afternoon trading.
Chinese retaliation could take the trans-Pacific relationship into potentially dangerous territory, according to Chris Krueger, an analyst with Cowen Washington Research Group.
During the past year of tit-for-tat tariff exchanges, China has imposed tariffs on all but $10 billion of its purchases from the U.S.
To keep pace with Trump’s planned escalation, Beijing may use other weapons, including state-backed boycotts of American products, tighter customs inspections and intensified tax audits of U.S. companies, Krueger said.
The economic and political fallout from such steps “are a lot harder to predict and prone to accident,” he added.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/busi...db6f10-727f-11e9-9eb4-0828f5389013_story.html
The president said Xi’s message was: “Let’s work together. Let’s see if we can get something done.”
Robert E. Lighthizer, the chief U.S. trade negotiator, is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. Thursday with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He to continue negotiations aimed at a comprehensive deal.
Those talks had been proceeding smoothly, with U.S. officials predicting a final accord could be agreed to as soon as this week.
But China last weekend angered the president by trying to water down its commitments, according to Lighthizer. Chinese officials balked at specifying in the agreement which laws would be amended to address U.S. concerns over forced technology transfer and intellectual property protection, U.S. officials said.
“The vice premier is coming here today. We were getting very close to a deal, and then they started to renegotiate the deal. We can’t have that,” the president said, following a White House event on preventing surprise medical bills. “It was their idea to come back.”
Trump said he expected “a very strong day” at the negotiating table, but added “our alternative is an excellent one,” an apparent reference to the tariff increase.
China has vowed to retaliate “in kind” if the president proceeds with the increase to 25 percent from 10 percent on $200 billion in Chinese products.
Along with the increase scheduled for Friday, the president has also threatened to extend tariffs to all $540 billion in annual Chinese imports.
The president frequently boasts about the revenue the federal government receives from higher tariffs, a tax increase that is paid by U.S. importers.
Though most economists say such a broadening of the trade conflict would inflict serious damage on both economies, the president insists his tariffs helped the U.S. economy grow at a 3.2 percent annual rate in the first quarter.
“I’m different than a lot of people . . . I happen to think that tariffs for our country are very valuable,” Trump said.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was down more than 180 points, or 0.7 percent, in early afternoon trading.
Chinese retaliation could take the trans-Pacific relationship into potentially dangerous territory, according to Chris Krueger, an analyst with Cowen Washington Research Group.
During the past year of tit-for-tat tariff exchanges, China has imposed tariffs on all but $10 billion of its purchases from the U.S.
To keep pace with Trump’s planned escalation, Beijing may use other weapons, including state-backed boycotts of American products, tighter customs inspections and intensified tax audits of U.S. companies, Krueger said.
The economic and political fallout from such steps “are a lot harder to predict and prone to accident,” he added.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/busi...db6f10-727f-11e9-9eb4-0828f5389013_story.html
