Trump raises doubts about possible trade deal with China

President Trump on Thursday cast doubt on the prospect of a trade deal between the U.S. and China, saying that Beijing has “become very spoiled” and is used to getting what it wants from Washington.

“You’ve never seen people come over from China to work on a trade deal. Now, will that be successful? I tend to doubt it,” Trump told reporters during a meeting with the NATO secretary-general. “The reason I doubt it is because China has become very spoiled. The European Union has become very spoiled.”

“Other countries have become very spoiled because they always got 100 percent of whatever they wanted from the United States. But we can’t allow that to happen anymore,” he added. 

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Senior U.S. officials, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, have been participating in talks with Chinese officials about a potential trade deal as the countries seek to stave off a trade war.

The Trump administration has proposed stiff tariffs on $150 billion in Chinese products. In turn, China has threatened to impose tariffs on $50 billion in U.S. goods.

While none of the tariffs have actually been put in place, the back-and-forth between Washington and Beijing has ignited fears of a trade war between the world’s two largest economies. 

Trump has repeatedly decried the trade deficit between China and the U.S., insisting that Beijing has long taken advantage of Americans. He has also railed against China’s theft of U.S. intellectual property.