Trump To Decide Next China Tariffs After G20 Summit

Whether or not President Donald Trump carries out his threat to levy 25 percent tariffs on $300 billion in Chinese goods -- a decision Trump promised to make after the G20 Summit on June 29 -- China is boasting “we’ll fight to the end.”

Negotiations to end the increasingly bitter trade war launched by Trump against China a year ago have stalled since May 10 when trade talks ended in failure. Tensions have risen dramatically since Trump, on May 17, boosted tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 percent from 10 percent.

Economists have said Trump’s trade war has eliminated more than $1.5 trillion in investments worldwide.

“I will make that decision in the next two weeks after the G20. I will be meeting with President Xi and we’ll see what happens, we’re probably planning it sometime after G20,” said Trump in France on Thursday.

In the same breath, Trump also threatened to impose a new set of tariffs worth $300 billion on China.

“Our talks with China, a lot of interesting things are happening. We’ll see what happens... I could go up another at least $300 billion and I’ll do that at the right time,” said Trump

The G20 summit in Japan, from June 28 to 29, will be the first time Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping will have met since the last G20 summit in Buenos Aires in late 2018. A Xi-Trump meeting has yet to be announced.

Both countries’ trade negotiators haven’t met since May 10. These failed talks were notable for a long series of false claims from the Trump White House progress was continually being made. Trump unilaterally ended the talks after accusing China of reneging on promises he claimed it previously made.

China responded to Trump’s threats with defiance.

“If the United States wilfully decides to escalate tensions, we’ll fight to the end,” said Gao Feng, Ministry of Commerce spokesman on Thursday.

“China does not want to fight a trade war, but also is not afraid of one. If the United States wilfully decides to escalate trade tensions, we’ll adopt necessary countermeasures and resolutely safeguard the interests of China and its people.”

Hong Kong media outlets are predicting Trump will likely levy 25 percent tariffs on $300 billion in Chinese goods. One outlet said Trump is “probably planning” to impose these tariffs some time after he meets with Xi at the G20, more specifically in July.