Donald Trump declared that China “completely violated the agreement” with the US in trade just two weeks after the country reached the deal, raising concerns that the trade war would continue to rattle the global economy.
“I quickly traded with China to save them from what I thought would be in a very bad situation,” Trump wrote on Friday morning of the True Society. “Everyone was happy! That’s good news!!! The bad news is that China is completely violating our agreement with us for those who are probably not surprising.”
Trump’s post follows comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent on Fox News that trade with China is “a bit stuck,” but he said there will be more discussions with Chinese officials in the coming weeks. The White House does not provide specific details regarding what trade talks have ceased.
The US stock market has become negative after the news. On Friday morning, the S&P fell by 0.1% and Nasdaq fell by 0.3%.
It’s been nearly four months since Trump first gave 10% tariffs on all Chinese imports in February. This is the beginning of a trade dispute that escalates in the spring. After raising interest rates to 20% in March, a complete trade war began when Trump imposed a 145% tariff on China, and China imposed a 125% tariff on American goods.
The armistice was announced on May 12th, with Trump reducing tariffs to 30% and China reducing US tariffs to 10%. The White House called the deal “historic” and said it would “set the path to future debate to open market access for American exports.”
But Trump’s post on Friday refers to the president’s continued instability amid the trade war.
Investors appeared to be somewhat reassuring that the U.S. International Trade Court Judges’ Committee has blocked most of Trump’s broader duties, including country-specific import duties, such as those placed in China. However, within 24 hours, the federal court of appeals suspended the ruling and allowed Trump to maintain tariffs.
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It is unclear how legal whiplash will affect Trump’s trade negotiations with foreigners. The trade court agreed to the group suing the White House, claiming that the president inappropriately uses federal trade laws to implement tariffs, and that Trump should be required to obtain Congressional approval for his broader tariffs.