Trump keeps door open to Xi meeting, even after new 100% China tariff bomb
Trade escalation comes hours after the US leader appeared to cancel a meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping
“I haven’t cancelled, but I don’t know that we’re going to have it, but I’m going to be there regardless. So I would assume we might have it,” Trump told reporters in the White House when asked about his earlier remarks indicating that the meeting could be off.
He asserted that Beijing had “hit the world with something that really is not anything that people are going to do, and ... it was shocking”, referring to Beijing’s new curbs on rare-earth exports announced on Thursday.
Trump hinted that his latest tariff plan could still evolve, and that few understood “this whole import-export concept”.
“We’re gonna have to see what happens. That’s why I made it November 1. We’ll see what happens,” he said.
His comments came just hours after a social media post declaring that the US will impose a tariff of 100 per cent on China from November 1, “over and above any tariff that they are currently paying (or sooner, depending on any further actions or changes taken by China)”.
“Also on November 1st, we will impose Export Controls on any and all critical software”, the “America first” advocate added, blaming Beijing for “hostile” trade behaviour.