On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused China of breaching a tariff agreement with the United States.
“China has completely violated its agreement with us, which isn’t surprising to some. So much for being Mr. Nice Guy!” Trump stated in a post on his Truth Social platform.
U.S.-China trade negotiations have been “somewhat stalled,” according to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent who spoke with Fox News on Thursday. He noted that the involvement of both President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping may be necessary to finalize a deal.
Just two weeks after productive talks led to a temporary easing of the trade conflict between the two largest economies, Bessent remarked that subsequent progress has been slow, but he anticipates more discussions within the next few weeks.
The agreement to suspend high tariffs for 90 days had triggered a significant surge in global stock markets. However, it did not address the core issues that led to Trump imposing tariffs on Chinese goods, which mainly revolve around long-standing U.S. concerns regarding China’s state-controlled, export-driven economic model—those matters are left for future negotiations.
Earlier this month, the United States and China mutually reduced high tariffs on each other’s products for 90 days during negotiations held in Geneva.
As part of the deal, the U.S. agreed to lower its tariffs on Chinese goods to 30%, while China would reduce its own tariffs to 10%—a reduction of over 100 percentage points.
This move was seen as a significant de-escalation in trade tensions, given that U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports had previously soared as high as 145% and even 245% on certain items.
However, analysts cautioned earlier that the potential return of tariffs after the 90-day period could add further uncertainty to the economic landscape.
“Reducing tariffs further will be challenging, and the risk of renewed escalation remains,” warned Yue Su, Principal Economist at The Economist Intelligence Unit, in comments to AFP.
Trump’s fluctuating tariff policies have severely impacted U.S. companies that depend on Chinese manufacturing, and while a temporary easing might provide some relief, it is not expected to resolve the larger issues at play.
Beijing officials have acknowledged that the trade uncertainties are further straining China’s economy, which is already struggling due to a prolonged real estate crisis and weak consumer spending.
With additional contributions from AFP
