US-China negotiation ended last week with no progress but only indications that the deadlock will continue. Trump continued his hard stance with his tweets on Sunday. He said the US is “right where we want to be with China”. And he criticized again that China “broke the deal with us & tried to renegotiate”.

And the US is taking in “Tens of Billions of Dollars in Tariffs”. He reiterated that the tariffs collected could be spend on “Great Patriot Farmers” and “distribute the food to starving people” in other nations.

Later, Trump also reiterated the conspiracy he created by his own. He said “China is DREAMING that Sleepy Joe Biden, or any of the others, gets elected in 2020. They LOVE ripping off America!”

On the other hand, the People’s Daily, China’s propaganda media, repeated that “at no time will China forfeit the country’s respect, and no one should expect China to swallow bitter fruit that harms its core interests.” This too, indicates that China is in no position to back down and rectify its own faults.

By loading the tweet, you agree to Twitter’s privacy policy.
Learn more

Load tweet

Always unblock Twitter Tweets

By loading the tweet, you agree to Twitter’s privacy policy.
Learn more

Load tweet

Always unblock Twitter Tweets

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told Fox News Sunday that the trade negotiations “seemed to be taking too long” and the administration “can’t accept any backtracking.” He also complained that China hasn’t come far enough.

On the impact of the tariffs that took effect last week, Kudlow said “the economic consequences are so small” as the US economy is “in terrific shape”. He estimated US might only lose 0.2% of GDP. And, “this is a risk we should and can take without damaging our economy in any appreciable way.

On more tariffs on currently untaxed USD 300B in Chinese imports, Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the details would be released on Monday. But Kudlow said it could probably be “months” before they take effect.

Meanwhile, he added that talks are on-going. And, there is a G-20 meeting in Japan toward the end of June next month and the chances that President Trump and President Xi will get together at that meeting are pretty good.”

Last week’s US-China negotiations ended with practically no progress, but just confirmation that the tariff war will drag on. New round of tariffs already took effect on Friday and paperwork for tariffs on USD 325B in Chinese goods has started. For now, no new round of talks is scheduled. China’s retaliations are awaited and could be announced any time soon.

Chines Vice Premier Liu He told reporters on Friday that the “negotiations have not broken down”. He also tried to talked down the situation and said mall setbacks are normal and inevitable during the negotiations of both countries. Looking forward, we are still cautiously optimistic” . Yet, he added that “right now, both sides have reached mutual understanding in many things, but frankly speaking, there are also differences.”

Liu emphasized “differences are significant issues of principle,” and “we absolutely cannot make concessions on such issues of principle.” One of the issues is over the current tariffs. Liu told Phoenix television in Hong Kong that if both sides wanted to reach an agreement, then all tariffs must be eliminated. Also, both sides have different opinions on the volume of additional purchase of US goods from China. As noted by a commentary by state news agency Xinhua, any purchases should be “in line with reality”. The biggest issue, though, is likely on the text regarding law changes regarding core issues like IP theft, which China sees as intrusion of sovereignty. Liu said that “every nation has its dignity, so the text ought to be balanced,”

Trump continued to sound hard line on China with his tweets and said China was “beaten so badly” in recent negotiations and they may as well “wait around for next election” to see if they can “get lucky and have a Democratic win”. But Trump also said “the only problem is that they know I am going to win… and the deal will become far worse for them if it has to be negotiated in my second term. Would be wise for them to act now, but love collecting BIG TARIFFS!”. Trump typically didn’t elaborate the logic link between China knowing he will win the second term yet, they’re waiting for next election. That’s no point in dragging on if a Trump win is certain.

By loading the tweet, you agree to Twitter’s privacy policy.
Learn more

Load tweet

Always unblock Twitter Tweets

In a series of tweets today, Trump indicates he’s now in no rush to seal the trade deal with China, given that new tariffs are already in plan. Trump said “Talks with China continue in a very congenial manner – there is absolutely no need to rush – as Tariffs are NOW being paid” going “directly to the Treasury”.

And, additionally Trump said with over USD 100B in tariffs, “we will buy agricultural products from our Great Farmers, in larger amounts than China ever did, and ship it to poor & starving countries in the form of humanitarian assistance.”

Also, “If we bought 15 Billion Dollars of Agriculture from our Farmers, far more than China buys now, we would have more than 85 Billion Dollars left over for new Infrastructure, Healthcare, or anything else. China would greatly slow down, and we would automatically speed up!”

It actually sounds a bit like a mix of state capitalism and socialism.

By loading the tweet, you agree to Twitter’s privacy policy.
Learn more

Load tweet

Always unblock Twitter Tweets

By loading the tweet, you agree to Twitter’s privacy policy.
Learn more

Load tweet

Always unblock Twitter Tweets

It’s formal. The new US tariffs on Chinese imports take effect. Tariffs on USD 200B in Chinese goods are increased from 10% to 25%. Top 10 items affected include telecommunication equipment, computer circuit boards, processing units, metal furniture, computer parts, wooden furniture, static converters, vinyl tile floor coverings, seats with wooden frame and car parts. Paper work for taxing another USD 325B in Chinese goods has also started earlier this week.

In a brief statement China Ministry of Commerce said the country “deeply regrets” US decision. And, MOFCOM said China “will have to take necessary countermeasures”, without elaboration. But it “hoped that the US and the Chinese side will work together and work together to resolve existing problems through cooperation and consultation.”

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He wrapped his first day of meeting with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. After 90 minutes meeting in the USTR office, they had a dinner together. Ahead of the meeting, Liu said: “We come here this time, under pressure, which shows China’s greatest sincerity, and want to sincerely, confidently, and rationally resolve certain disagreements or differences facing China and the United States. I think there is hope,”

Trump said he got a “beautiful letter” from Chinese President Xi Jinping and they’ “probably” speak by phone. Trump reiterated his hard line and said “Our alternative is an excellent one, it’s an alternative I’ve spoken about for years. We’ve taken well over $100 billion from China in a year.”

For now, no phone call has been made yet, nor scheduled. White House just noted that the negotiations will continue on Friday morning in Washington. Meanwhile, the tariffs on USD 200B of Chinese imports will be raised from 10% to 25% at 12:01am EDT (0401 GMT) today. China’s retaliations are expected to follow soon. And, the US has also started the paperwork to impose 25% tariffs on extra USD 325B in untaxed Chinese goods.