Trump touts billions of dollars ‘pouring into U.S. coffers’ from China tariffs ahead of meeting with Xi

President Trump early Thursday touted the “billions of dollars” pouring into “the coffers of the U.S.A. because of the tariffs being charged to China” ahead of his scheduled meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, at the Group of 20 (G-20) summit this weekend.

“Billions of Dollars are pouring into the coffers of the U.S.A. because of the Tariffs being charged to China, and there is a long way to go,” he wrote on Twitter.

“If companies don’t want to pay Tariffs, build in the U.S.A. Otherwise, lets just make our Country richer than ever before!”

Billions of Dollars are pouring into the coffers of the U.S.A. because of the Tariffs being charged to China, and there is a long way to go. If companies don’t want to pay Tariffs, build in the U.S.A. Otherwise, lets just make our Country richer than ever before!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2018

{mosads}The two leaders are scheduled to meet for dinner Saturday at the G-20 summit in Argentina to discuss a possible truce that could tamp down an escalating trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

China and the U.S. have exchanged billions in tit-for-tat tariffs over recent months, keeping the world markets on edge.

Top White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Tuesday expressed hope that a “breakthrough” could be made by the two leaders.

“President Xi has an opportunity to change the tone and the substance of these talks. It’s a big opportunity. President Trump has indicated he is open. Now we need to know if President Xi is open,” Kudlow told a group of reporters at the White House.

Trump is seeking concessions on alleged intellectual property theft and what he describes as exploitative trade practices, while Xi is hoping the president pledges limits on new tariffs on Chinese goods.

The Federal Reserve warned Wednesday that failure to resolve the trade standoff could trigger a “particularly large” drop in markets.