Trump touts tariffs as China, US fail to reach trade deal

Trade talks between the U.S. and China ended Friday without a deal, as President Trump ratcheted up tensions with Beijing by increasing tariffs on $200 billion in imports and declining to set a date for future talks.

In a pair of tweets, Trump called the past two days of negotiations “candid and constructive” but stressed he is prepared to wait out Chinese President Xi Jinping until he delivers on key concessions.

{mosads}“The relationship between President Xi and myself remains a very strong one, and conversations into the future will continue,” Trump said in the tweets. “In the meantime, the United States has imposed Tariffs on China, which may or may not be removed depending on what happens with respect to future negotiations!”

Friday’s events capped off a remarkable collapse of the talks, which Trump just last month said would likely produce a “historic” and “epic” deal between the two economic superpowers that he planned to sign with Xi at a White House summit.

Trump’s hardened stance again raises the possibility of a full-blown trade war between the U.S. and China, with Beijing threatening to respond with “countermeasures” to the increased tariffs.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer met with a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He on Thursday and Friday in an effort to strike a last-minute deal. But the talks ended Friday morning with no agreement in hand.

Mnuchin told CNBC later Friday that no further negotiating sessions are planned as of now.

The negotiations started to break down last weekend after U.S. officials accused Beijing of reneging on its pledge to change laws to address the Trump administration’s core complaints in the trading relationship, allegations the Chinese denied.

The Trump administration has long accused Beijing of imposing unfair requirements on U.S. companies seeking to do business in China, including forced technology transfers and ownership restrictions. 

Mr. Trump’s advisers want to ensure China does not violate an agreement that is aimed at giving American companies greater access to China’s market and ensuring protections for their technology and trade secrets.

Trump responded on Sunday in tweets by saying he would raise tariffs from 10 percent to 25 percent on $200 billion in Chinese goods, a decision that went into effect early Friday. He also threatened to slap 25 percent tariffs on an additional $325 billion in goods, which would cover almost all Chinese imports, if trade negotiations continue to falter.

Lighthizer said in a statement Friday evening that Trump has ordered him “to begin the process of raising tariffs on essentially all remaining imports from China” and that formal steps would be taken starting on Monday.

Trump on Friday said he feels “no need to rush” to secure a deal with China and lauded what he sees as the virtues of tariffs for the U.S. economy.

“Tariffs will make our Country MUCH STRONGER, not weaker. Just sit back and watch! In the meantime, China should not renegotiate deals with the U.S. at the last minute,” he tweeted.

Stock markets fell in early morning trading, but later rallied after Trump and Mnuchin both called the talks “constructive.” The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day up just over 114 points and the S&P 500 Index closed with a modest gain of 0.37 percent.

Trade tensions between the U.S. and China have rattled investors, with both major stock indexes down on the week, and they have angered some of the president’s Republican allies in Congress, who are also worried about the administration’s efforts to secure deals with Mexico, Canada and Europe.

China in the past has retaliated against Trump’s tariffs by taxing imports of major U.S. agricultural products, such as soybeans, corn and pork, which lawmakers complain hurt farmers in heartland states that are key to the president’s reelection campaign in 2020.

“A lot of farmers have said to me, it’s hurting us temporarily. But the president’s doing the right thing because you can’t let the Chinese screw us on international trade, where we have $600 billion deficit,” Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) told NPR on Tuesday. “So it’s time, I think, to strike a very strong, enforceable deal so that farmers, even nonfarmers, can get the certainty that they need.”

Trump has appeared sensitive to farmers’ concerns, saying that additional revenue from tariffs could be redirected into an aid package intended to defray their losses.

“Your all time favorite President got tired of waiting for China to help out and start buying from our FARMERS, the greatest anywhere in the World!” the president tweeted on Friday morning.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said later that Trump had directed him to craft a plan to help farmers who are suffering from the effects of the trade dispute.

“@POTUS loves his farmers and will not let them down!” Perdue tweeted.

Updated 6:39 p.m.