Andy Wong/AP Photo
- President Donald Trump said Tuesday he and Chinese President Xi Jinping had spoken on the phone and planned to have an ‘extensive’ meeting at a multilateral summit in late June.
- He added that trade negotiations would resume before the G20 summit.
- Trump had threatened to slap punishing tariffs on virtually all imports from China unless Xi agreed to meet with him.
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and that trade negotiations would resume before the end of the month. The comments ease concerns that planned escalations between the largest economies would take place at the end of June.
"Had a very good telephone conversation with President Xi of China," Trump wrote on Twitter. "We will be having an extended meeting next week at the G-20 in Japan. Our respective teams will begin talks prior to our meeting."
Trump has vowed to slap steep tariffs on virtually all imports from China if Xi doesn’t meet with him at the G20 summit at the end of the month. Eleven rounds of trade negotiations between the two countries stalled in early May after the US said China reneged on nearly all major commitments in a draft deal.
That led the Trump administration to increase import taxes on China, subjecting $250 billion worth of products to a 25% duty. China retaliated by raising its own tariffs on American products.
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Experts warn that Trump’s planned tariffs on roughly $300 billion worth of products would have sweeping consequences for both economies. While Trump falsely claims that foreign exporters pay tariffs, evidence shows that American businesses and consumers bear the brunt of protectionist policies.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have grown frustrated with the Trump administration’s approach to addressing trade policies seen as unfair. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa is leading efforts to put together legislation in the coming weeks that would seek to limit presidential tariff powers.
"I don’t agree that tariffs should be what we use in every instance," Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said on Tuesday at a congressional hearing featuring US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
China’s state media outlet CCTV confirmed Tuesday that Trump and Xi spoke on the phone, according to Reuters, but did not offer further details. The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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See Also:
- JPMORGAN: America’s small businesses risk running out of money as the trade war rages on — and investors appear blind to the mounting pressure
- Beware a ‘Trump recession’: JPMorgan unloads on the president’s role in erasing a full year of market progress — and lays out a scenario that could save the day
- A full-blown recession and double-digit stock losses: Morgan Stanley just unveiled its revised bear case for the trade war — and it’s not pretty
Source: Business Insider – gheeb@businessinsider.com (Gina Heeb)