Senate

Schumer: Trump ‘sold out’ on China trade deal

by Jordain Carney - 12/13/19 12:03 PM ET

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) knocked President Trump on Friday over reports of a “Phase One” deal with China, saying he had “sold out.”

Schumer — who has repeatedly urged Trump to take a hard line on Beijing and has praised the president for it — criticized the agreement as containing “temporary and unreliable” concessions from China.

“There are huge structural inequities, structural and unfair imbalances, with China’s trade relationships with the U.S. At first, President Trump seemed like the only president who would dare tackle this challenge; but now, according to reports, he has sold out for a temporary and unreliable promise from China to purchase some soybeans,” Schumer said in a statement.

“We’ve heard this song and dance from China before. Once again, Donald Trump cannot be relied upon to do the right thing for American workers and businesses, even when his statements were pointing in the right direction,” he added.

President Trump and China on Friday announced that they had reached a Phase One trade deal that would include a reduction in tariffs and an increase in China’s purchases of U.S. agricultural products.

An announcement from U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer specified that the U.S. would keep 25 percent tariffs on some $250 billion of Chinese imports, but drop the rate to roughly 7.5 percent tariffs on another $120 billion in imports. The deal also nixes a new round of tariffs set to go into effect on Sunday.

But Trump has come under early criticism over the agreement, with Schumer and other Democrats arguing Trump didn’t secure much in the deal despite a months-long trade war with China.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) called the agreement a “capitulation.”

“The deal Trump just announced with China is the exact outcome we feared. Trump single-handedly took down the U.S. economy with tariffs that killed 300,000 jobs, and this deal doesn’t commit China to any serious structural reforms. What on earth did Trump put us through this economic hell for?” Murphy said in a statement.

“This is classic Donald Trump — escalating a crisis for show and ratcheting it down with no wins for the U.S. when it’s politically expedient. This is what he always does, and it’s American families who pay the price,” Murphy added.

Tags Chris Murphy Chuck Schumer Donald Trump Robert Lighthizer