US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that the tariffs imposed on China were “not sustainable,” as tensions between Washington and Beijing escalate ahead of his expected meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
However, Trump blamed China for the latest impasse in trade talks that began with Beijing tightening control over its rare earth exports.
In an interview with Fox Business, a clip of which aired on Friday, Trump was asked whether the tariffs imposed by both countries earlier this year could remain.
“It’s not sustainable,” he replied. “But that’s what the number is, it’s probably not, you know, it could stand, but they forced me to do that.”
Trump said he would meet Xi in two weeks and expressed optimism that relations would improve.
“China is always looking for an edge,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. We’ll see what happens.”
The tariff dispute between the two nations has seen US import taxes on Chinese goods rise as high as 145 per cent, fueling fears of a global slowdown.
Those duties were placed on hold under a 90-day truce, the latest of which is set to expire on November 10 unless extended.
Last week, Trump warned of an additional 100 per cent tariff on Chinese goods by November 1 and even discussed canceling his planned meeting with Xi, which is expected to take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea later this month.
The new trade steps were Trump's reaction to China dramatically expanding its rare earth element export controls. China dominates the market for such elements, which are essential to tech manufacturing.
Speaking about his relationship with the Chinese leader, Trump said, “I get along great with him. I think we’re going to be fine with China, but we have to have a fair deal. It’s got to be fair.”
When asked on Wednesday whether the US was already in a trade war with China, Trump responded, “Well, you’re in one now. We have a 100 per cent tariff. If we didn’t have tariffs, we would be exposed as being a nothing.”
With inputs from Reuters