President Donald Trump said the U.S. will increase tariffs on China if both countries are unable to finalize the “phase one” trade agreement.
“If we don’t make a deal, we’re going to substantially raise those tariffs,” Trump said Tuesday in a speech to the Economic Club in New York referring to the existing import tariffs on Chinese Goods. He also warned about possibly taking the same measures with “other countries that mistreat us too.”
After announcing an agreement in mid-October, Trump postponed the plans on increasing tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods from 25 percent to 30 percent on List 1, 2, and 3, claiming the U.S. and China had finally reached the first phase of a trade deal.
Even though both countries reported progress in recent weeks towards finalizing that agreement, Trump downplayed the reports by stating he hasn’t “agreed to anything” but suggesting that a “rollback” could be on the table. Such suggestions could have credence when a White House economic adviser said in a press conference the “Phase One” agreement could include some adjustments to tariffs already in place.”
Both Presidents, Trump and Xi Jinping had planned to sign the “Phase One” agreement of the trade deal at an international conference this month held in Chile that was recently canceled due to the coups and demonstrations ravaging the country. New locations in Asia and Europe are now being considered instead.
