Trump’s trade tariffs put Xi’s trusted economic envoy in the shade despite limited fallout for China
Beijing urges restraint on duties as analysts warn that more trade action from Washington could be on the cards
Beijing slammed US President Donald Trump’s plan to slap hefty tariffs on steel and aluminium products – a move that analysts said overshadowed talks between US officials and President Xi Jinping’s most trusted adviser.
Industry insiders said the real impact of the duties on China’s steel industry would be limited but more trade action from Washington could follow.
Trump confirmed on Thursday that he would sign off on a 25 per cent tariff on steel imports and a 10 per cent duty on inbound aluminium products, with more details due to be released next week.
In a tweet on Friday, Trump said: “When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win. Example, when we are down $100 billion with a certain country and they get cute, don’t trade anymore-we win big. It’s easy!”
The Chinese foreign ministry responded to the tariffs on Friday by calling on the United States to “exercise restraint” in using trade protection tools and saying any misuse would have a serious impact on the international trade order.