US President Donald Trump has accused China of violating a truce on tariffs struck earlier this month, leading to a strong response from Beijing. The US had agreed to temporarily lower tit-for-tat tariffs after talks in Geneva, but Trump said China had “totally violated its agreement with us”.
China’s reaction came in the form of an accusation that the US was also violating trade agreements. A spokesman for China’s Washington embassy claimed that the US was still imposing discriminatory restrictions on Chinese companies.
The situation has raised concerns that trade tensions could escalate again between the world’s two largest economies, despite recent negotiations. The US and China agreed to reduce tariffs imposed on each other’s imports in a deal where both nations cancelled some tariffs altogether and suspended others for 90 days.
Under the deal, the US lowered tariffs from 145% to 30%, while China’s retaliatory tariffs dropped from 125% to 10%. However, tensions remain high as both sides claim the other has not complied with the agreement. The US Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, stated that China had not been removing non-tariff barriers as agreed under the deal.
China responded by urging the US to “immediately correct its erroneous actions, cease discriminatory restrictions against China and jointly uphold the consensus reached at the high-level talks in Geneva”. A federal appeals court has granted a bid from the White House to temporarily suspend a lower court’s order that Trump had exceeded his authority.
The situation highlights the ongoing challenges in trade negotiations between the US and China. Despite recent progress, tensions remain high as both sides disagree over the terms of the agreement.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cje7zex3njwo