MNI POLICY: Trump Says US 'Lost Its Shirt' in China Trade

By Shen Lu

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - President Donald Trump said Friday that China has taken

advantage of the United States in trade, a return to more hostile remarks days

before the resumption of talks between the two nations.

     "We've lost our shirts with China, and now China's dying to make a deal.

And we're taking, by the way, billions and billions of dollars of tariffs are

coming in, and China is paying for it, not our people," Trump said.

     "Right now, we've put very big tariffs on," Trump said, adding China had

"broken a deal" in May. "We have a lot more to put on if we want."

     China wasn't the sole focus of Trump's comments on trade. Much of his

criticism was aimed at former U.S. leaders such as Joe Biden and Barack Obama

for allowing China to build up an unfair advantage. Trump also criticized other

trade arrangements, saying Europe "kills us on trade" and NATO nations from the

region aren't paying their fair share of defense costs.

     The president on Friday didn't provide details of how the talks with China

will go in terms of timing or details. Administration officials said on

Wednesday that top negotiators from the U.S. and China are arranging to resume

talks next week.

     Chinese officials say the U.S. must remove all the additional tariffs

levied on Chinese goods since the trade war commenced before a new agreement can

be reached. "If both sides are able to reach an agreement, the tariffs that have

been imposed have to be removed completely," Gao Feng, a spokesman of Ministry

of Commerce, said at a briefing Thursday. Gao said U.S. tariff hikes have

damaged American companies and consumers and dampened the world economy.

     Some U.S. politicians and business leaders also say domestic consumers are

the ones who end up paying higher prices because of Trump's tariffs, and urged

him to find other tools to ease the dispute.

     White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Wednesday the U.S. would not

lift tariffs already imposed on Chinese imports during negotiations, and will

push for reforms on the transfer of technology and other non-tariff trade

barriers. Kudlow said he was hopeful China would keep its promise to purchase "a

good many of " American imports, including agriculture products. Reuters

reported on Thursday that a Chinese private importer last week bought U.S. rice

for the first time ever, in the midst of a trade war.

     Referring to Kudlow's remarks, Taoran Notes, a social media account

affiliated with state media Economic Daily, on Friday doubled down on China's

stance. A Taoran commentary suggested China will not buy American agriculture

products if the U.S. goes back and forth again in future trade negotiations.

--MNI Washington Bureau; +1 202-371-2121; email: jean.yung@marketnews.com

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