US President 'regrets' not imposing higher tariffs on Chinese goods
The White House says US President Donald Trump's only regret in the trade war with China is that he couldn't impose higher tariffs.
 |
| US President Donald Trump. Photo: BI |
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France on August 25, when asked if he had second thoughts about escalating the trade war with China, President Trump replied: "Yes, absolutely. I always reconsider everything."
Many people were surprised by the answer of the head of the US government. However, later, White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham affirmed that reporters misunderstood Mr. Trump's statement. "President Trump answered firmly because he regrets not raising taxes higher," Ms. Grisham explained.
The White House leader's controversial statement came shortly after he announced an additional 5% import tax on Chinese goods worth a total of $550 billion.
Specifically, the US will increase import tax from 10% to 15% on 300 billion USD worth of Chinese goods from September 1 and increase import tax from 25% to 30% on the remaining 250 billion USD worth of Chinese goods from October 1.
This is considered Washington's retaliatory move right after China decided to impose an additional tax of 5% - 10% on US goods worth 75 billion USD.
Observers are concerned that the negative developments above make the possibility of reaching an agreement to end the trade war between the world's two leading economies increasingly remote.
China's Global Times recently published an editorial criticizing the Trump administration's anti-Beijing tariff policy as "politically motivated" and aimed at forcing "its largest trading partner to obediently submit to Washington."
However, according to Sputnik, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He asserted that Beijing strongly opposes the escalation of the trade war with the US and is ready to continue negotiations with Washington to resolve disputes.
"China firmly opposes trade protectionism and blockades in new technology areas. China is working hard to ensure the integrity of production chains. We are willing to resolve the existing problem through consultation and cooperation, and we firmly oppose the escalation of a trade war," Liu He, who leads China's trade negotiations with the United States, said in a speech at the opening of an international fair in China today, August 26.
