Trump Signals Softer Approach to Trade War With China, Saying It Will ‘All Be Fine’

President Trump is signaling a softer approach on the issue of trade with the People’s Republic of China just days after stock and cryptocurrency markets were roiled by his announcement that he will impose a 100 percent tariff on all Chinese goods. For months, he has been going back and forth on how severely to curtail Chinese imports as he looks to close America’s trade deficit. Mr. Trump’s announcement on Friday that he would impose a 100 percent tariff on China starting November 1 came in response to reports he heard about the country trying to “clog” the global rare earth elements market. “Our relationship with China over the past six months has been a very good one, thereby making this move on Trade an even more surprising one,” he wrote in one Truth Social post about China’s apparent consideration of export controls for the minerals. “I have always felt that they’ve been lying in wait, and now, as usual, I have been proven right!”In a follow-up message, Mr. Trump said that the United States “will impose a Tariff of 100 percent on China, over and above any Tariff that they are currently paying.” The current tariff rate for Chinese goods is 30 percent, meaning the total tariff will be 130 percent should Mr. Trump follow through. “Also on November 1st, we will impose Export Controls on any and all critical software,” he added. “It is impossible to believe that China would have taken such an action, but they have, and the rest is History.”The social media post sent the stock market tumbling, leading to the worst single-day loss for Wall Street since April, when the president originally announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs. On Sunday, however, Mr. Trump seemed to change his tune. “Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesn’t want Depression for his country, and neither do I,” the president wrote on his social media platform. “The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!!”Mr. Trump’s attempt to de-escalate follows Chinese officials taking a strong stance against his trade war. In a statement posted online Sunday, a spokesman for China’s ministry of commerce said that the country’s export controls will not be dictated by the American government. “Willful threats of high tariffs are not the right way to get along with China. China’s position on the trade war is consistent: we do not want it, but we are not afraid of it,” the commerce ministry said. If Mr. Trump does back down and abandon his promise to impose new tariffs and export controls, this would mark the second time that the president has pumped the brakes on punishing the world’s second-largest economy. In April, just days after his Liberation Day announcement, Mr. Trump announced the China tariffs would be increased to more than 100 percent for the following 90 days, though he ultimately reduced that down to 30 percent following a framework agreement on issues like fentanyl trafficking. He has also declined to follow through on previous threats related to trade, including his promise to restore the retaliatory Liberation Day tariffs after 90 days. His tariff power — including the authority to impose the tariffs on China that are now in place and those that he seeks to add on November 1 — are being challenged currently at the United States Supreme Court. The justices are expected to hear arguments in that case in November.

Trump Signals Softer Approach to Trade War With China, Saying It Will ‘All Be Fine’

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