President Donald Trump has admitted that his proposed 100 percent tariff hike on goods from China is not sustainable, merely days after he sent markets tumbling by making the threat.
And despite saying last week there was no point meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping because Beijing was “becoming very hostile” over trade, Trump now appears set to do exactly that at a gathering of Asia-Pacific leaders this month.
The pivot comes days after Trump supercharged a trade war between the world’s largest economies by announcing he would impose 100 percent retaliatory tariffs on China from November 1, as well as new export controls on “critical software.”
However, asked on Friday whether the additional tariff on China could continue, and what such a spike might do to the economy, Trump replied: “It’s not sustainable,” later adding: “They forced me to do that.”
“China has ripped us off from day one,” Trump said during the interview with Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo. “We have a very strong adversary, and they only respect strength.”
But the president then went on to say the U.S. was “going to do fine with China” and touted his “great” relationship with Xi.
Both leaders are now expected to meet on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea, where rare-earth minerals, export controls and American soybeans will be on the agenda.
“He’s a very strong leader, an amazing man,” Trump added.
“His life is an amazing story; it’s a story for a great movie. I think we’re going to be fine with China, but we have to have a fair deal. It’s going to be fair.”
Trump’s on-again-off-again tariff threats have earned him the nickname “TACO” on Wall Street—short for “Trump Always Chickens Out.”
However, the tariffs have raked in billions of dollars in revenue since he took office, with the U.S. bringing in about $194 billion in tariff revenue since the start of the year, according to tracking by the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Tensions with China escalated this month after the country, which dominates the global supply of rare earth elements, announced tighter export controls on these rare earth minerals.
These are vital for many high-tech industries, including manufacturing for semiconductors, electric vehicles, and defense equipment.
The administration viewed China’s actions as an aggressive move designed to disrupt global supply chains and exert leverage in trade negotiations.
“This affects ALL Countries, without exception, and was obviously a plan devised by them years ago,” Trump wrote of China’s actions last week. “It is absolutely unheard of in International Trade, and a moral disgrace in dealing with other Nations.”
The upcoming APEC meeting was particularly important because Trump had vowed to use it to confront Xi over Beijing’s refusal to buy American soybeans, which has put the squeeze on farmers in the MAGA heartland.
While China has historically been a top buyer of U.S. soybeans, American tariffs have led the country to place a retaliatory tariff on the U.S., with Beijing now increasingly turning to South America for its produce.
But American farmers have warned that the lack of purchases could be devastating for them, particularly at a time when fertilizer and other goods have become more expensive, potentially even leading to bankruptcies and foreclosures.
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