On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on almost all of America’s trading partners, and he had tough words for Beijing. I have great respect for President Xi [Jinping] of China, great respect for China, but they were taking tremendous advantage of us,” Trump said during his roughly hour-long speech on Wednesday.
Holding up a map of countries and territories that he claimed had imposed trade obstacles on US exports, Trump stated: “If you look at that… China, first row, 67%. Tariffs levied against the United States include currency manipulation and trade obstacles.
We will charge [them] a 34% reciprocal tariff,” he explained. “In other words, they charge us; we charge them; and we charge them less. So, how can anyone be upset?
However, China’s Commerce Ministry promptly condemned the decision as “a typical act of unilateral bullying” and vowed to take “resolute countermeasures” to protect its rights and interests. And Xinhua, the state news agency, accused Trump of “turning trade into an overly simplistic tit-for-tat game.” Experts believe Beijing has valid reasons to be concerned.
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