WASHINGTON: U. S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he may not impose more tariffs on Chinese goods after Beijing sent the United States…
WASHINGTON: U. S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he may not impose more tariffs on Chinese goods after Beijing sent the United States a list of measures it was willing to take to resolve trade tensions, although he added it was unacceptable that some major items were omitted from the list.
Trump has imposed tariffs on US$250 billion (£194.8 billion) of Chinese imports to force concessions from Beijing on the list of demands that would change the terms of trade between the two countries. China has responded with import tariffs on U. S. goods.
Washington is demanding Beijing improve market access and intellectual property protections for U. S. companies, cut industrial subsidies and slash a US$375 billion trade gap.
The relationship between the two countries has deteriorated in recent months, and U. S. Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday said China needed to change its behaviour to avoid a new cold war with the United States.
The U. S. tariff rate on US$200 billion in Chinese goods is set to increase to 25 percent from 10 percent on Jan. 1. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on all remaining Chinese imports — about US$267 billion more in goods — if Beijing fails to address U. S. demands.
«We may not have to do that,» Trump told reporters at the White House. «China would like to make a deal.
