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13 May, 2019 13:11

Take trade war deal or be ‘hurt very badly,’ Trump warned China before Beijing hit US with tariffs

Take trade war deal or be ‘hurt very badly,’ Trump warned China before Beijing hit US with tariffs

Hours before China retaliated with a massive new set of tariffs against the US, President Donald Trump tweeted an ultimatum to Chinese President Xi Jinping, telling him to make a deal or face economic hurt.

You had a great deal, almost completed, & you backed out!” Trump admonished in a Monday tweet, suggesting that China was stalling in coming to an agreement in trade negotiations. This latest threat comes on the heels of Trump’s decision to more than double tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods.

Despite Trump’s threat the same day that any retaliation by China would make things worse, Beijing responded in turn with a new set of tariffs of up to 25 percent on $60 billion worth of US imports.

Also on rt.com China strikes back at Trump's new tariffs, targeting $60 billion in US exports

After the first round of negotiations last Friday ended with no agreement, Trump decided to call off the talks just as his dramatically increased tariff package went into effect. Although he initially called the discussions “candid and constructive,” no further talks were scheduled.

Over the following weekend, he demanded that China accept the deal already proposed by the US, or face a “far worse” deal after his re-election. In a series of tweets, he accused China of holding things up in order to try to strike a more favorable deal with the Democrats if they are elected in 2020, saying Beijing wants to keep “ripping-off” the US for “$500 billion a year.

Also on rt.com US to face ‘deadly punch’ from ‘kung fu master’ China in response to trade war tricks – ex-official

The US and China have been involved in an all-out economic battle since early last year when Trump accused Beijing of stealing trade secrets and forcing foreign companies to give up technology in order to gain access to Chinese markets. The rival superpower’s tit-for-tat tariff measures have already affected hundreds of billions in mutual imports.

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