President Trump said on Wednesday that the U.S. will not immediately lift tariffs on $250 million worth of Chinese goods even if a trade deal between the U.S. and China is reached in the coming weeks.
“No, we are not talking about removing them,” President Trump told reporters before departing the White House for a trip to Ohio. “We’re talking about leaving them for a substantial period of time because we have to make sure that, if we do the deal with China, that China lives by the deal.”
However, it has been reported that China is believed to be reluctant to address President Trump’s demands, or to remove its retaliation against $110 billion of U.S. exports, if the U.S. duties are left in place.
White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow said this week that a tentative agreement had been reached with China on how a broader pact would be enforced. “That agreement features proposals that would allow the U.S. to impose certain duties if Beijing is found to have violated its commitments, and China would not be permitted to retaliate,” Kudlow said.
President Trump also confirmed that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin would be returning to Beijing for more negotiations next week.
President Trump has imposed a 10-percent duty on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and a 25-percent duty on another $50 billion.
