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US-China Trade War: Donald Trump Says Talks With China To Continue

Donald Trump says the United States has not yet reached an agreement over trade war with China

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that the United States has not yet reached an agreement over trade war with China. However, he assured that the government will continue to talk to China to resolve the issues.

“We’ve done very well in negotiations with China but we’re not prepared to make the deal that they’d like to make,” Trump told reporters at the White House, reported Reuters.

“We’ll continue to talk to China. I have great respect for (Chinese) President Xi (Jinping),” the U.S. President said. “But right now we just can’t make that deal.”

In a tit-for-tat trade war, both the U.S. and China has imposed tariffs on $50 billion of each other’s goods. The trade war isn’t looking to end up soon as Trump said earlier this week that he is considering imposing tariffs on another $200 billion in Chinese imports.

The list of goods that would be hit with the latest tariffs is still being finalized. The new list will likely include many consumer goods such as hats and fabrics, while previous tariffs have focused mostly on industrial goods like machinery.

The U.S-China trade war took shape in July this year when the Trump administration imposed 25 percent tariffs on Chinese goods of worth $34 billion to punish Beijing for its unfair trade practices and theft of intellectual property. This led China to respond with similarly sized tariffs on U.S. products.

US Treasury Secretary David Malpass met with Chinese Commerce Vice Minister Wang Shouwen in Washington DC on August 22 to open up dialogue in response to the intensifying trade war, but, unfortunately, the discussions ended with no resolution.

China isn’t the only country to face the tariff burnt; the US has also charged levies on the imports of steel and aluminum from the European Union, Mexico and Canada.

Trump claims tariffs on imported products will make US-made products cheaper. This will encourage Amercian consumers to buy made in America products which would ultimately boost local businesses and support the national economy.

Caroline Finnegan

A professionnal journalist for the past ten years, I cover global news and economic affairs for The Chief Observer.

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