President Trump is open to a deal with Beijing on tariffs, but “the ball is in China’s court" amid the global superpowers' trade battle, the White House shared Tuesday.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt, asked whether Trump would consider reducing tariffs on China to get a deal done on the social media app TikTok, said the president has “made his position on China quite clear” and read a new statement from Trump she said had been shared moments earlier in the Oval Office.
“‘The ball is in China’s court. China needs to make a deal with us. We don’t have to make a deal with them,’” Leavitt said, citing the statement.
“‘There’s no difference between China and any other country, except they are much larger, and China wants what we have, what every country wants what we have: the American consumer. Or to put it another way, they need our money.’”
Trump's escalating tariff battle with China is sowing chaos in the global economy and raising questions about next moves for both Washington and Beijing.
The president last week announced a 90-day pause on tariffs against other countries, but he bumped up tariffs on China and insisted China "wants to make a deal" but doesn't "know how to go about it." Tariffs on imports from China are now at 145 percent.
China in turn upped its tariffs on the U.S. to 125 percent but has said it will ignore" the numbers game moving forward. On Monday, President Xi Jinping reportedly said "trade war and tariff war will produce no winner, and protectionism will lead nowhere," in a swipe at Trump's latest moves.
Leavitt said last week Trump is “optimistic” about a deal.
