Donald Trump says US will strike 'very good' trade deal with China as countries line up to negotiate tariffs - ABC News
Donald Trump says US will strike 'very good' trade deal with China as countries line up to negotiate tariffs - ABC News
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Donald Trump says US will strike 'very good' trade deal with China as countries line up to negotiate tariffs
Topic:Trade
Donald Trump has met with Japan as countries around the world begin negotations over his tariff policy. (Reuters: Kevin Lamarque, file photo)
In short:
The US will strike a "very good" trade deal with China, Donald Trump says.
The US president's comments came after a post which indicated Beijing was keen to meet to discuss American tariffs on Chinese goods.
Several other Asian countries have begun similar negotiations to try and avoid President Trump's tariff regime.
Donald Trump says the US will strike a "very good" trade deal with China, as both countries remain locked in a tariff war.
Several Asian countries have started negotiations with the US over his levy policy but despite facing the highest tariffs China has not.
A White House website page states that some Chinese goods face a 245 per cent tariff in the US.
Beijing has slapped a 125 per cent tariff on US imports.
"I think we're going to make a very good deal with China," he said at the White House on Thursday, US time, sitting opposite Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni who was in Washington for talks on tariffs.
Earlier, the US president said "big progress" had been made in negotiations with Japan on tariffs, after he met with the country's trade delegation this week.
He provided no further detail about how close a trade deal may or may not be with Tokyo and later added he was in "no rush" to announce deals.
"A Great Honor (sic) to have just met with the Japanese Delegation on Trade. Big Progress!" President Trump posted on social media.
A photo of Japan's lead trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa and Donald Trump at the White House was posted on X shortly after the meeting. (X: The White House)
While Asia's major exporters to the US, including Japan, Vietnam and Taiwan open discussions with the Trump administration on tariffs, China is notably absent from the offices of the White House.
Earlier on Thursday, he posted on social media that China "wants to meet!", despite Beijing showing no signs it wants to negotiate.
China's President Xi Jinping has spent the week in South-East Asia, trying to rally support from neighbouring countries amid the tariff war.
President Xi arrived in Cambodia on Thursday and said Cambodia should oppose "hegemonism" and "protectionism", echoing similar sentiments expressed in Malaysia and Vietnam earlier in the week.
The US has said it was up to China to start negotiations, but that did not look likely.
"The unilateral tariff increases were entirely initiated by the United States," He Yongqian, a Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson, told a weekly news conference.
Ms He, quoting an old Chinese proverb said, "the person who tied the bell must be the one who unties it".
While the trade war continues between the US and China, here's what we know about other countries at the negotiating table with the Trump administration.
Japan
Japanese negotiator Ryosei Akazawa met President Trump, Mr Greer and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington on Wednesday, US time, with no detailed progress report detailed by either side.
A second meeting is scheduled for the end of April.
"The discussions ahead will not be easy, but the US president has expressed his willingness to give the highest priority to negotiations with Japan," Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said, adding that he was ready to meet President Trump himself.
Japan's car industry is heavily reliant on the US market, with tariffs causing deep concerns for the future of its export market. (Reuters: Issei Kato, file photo)
A close ally of Washington and the leading source of foreign investment in the United States, Japan faces an additional 24 per cent tariff on its exports as well as an existing 25 per cent automobile tax.
Automobiles accounted for about 28 per cent of Japanese exports to the United States last year.
Japan's Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato told Reuters he was "deeply concerned" about the global economic fall-out from the tariff chaos, saying they could have significant impacts on the country's economy.
Vietnam
Vietnam didn't wait for President Trump to announce a 90-day pause on tariffs above 10 per cent to start discussions.
After Trump's tariff drama, China makes deals
The timing of his tour through South-East Asia couldn't be better for Xi, who is trying to court as many countries as possible to form a united diplomatic front against Trump's tariffs.
Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc had already been in Washington for several days before the start of the pause, meeting US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
Threatened with additional import duties of 46 per cent, Hanoi said it wanted to buy more US products, including defence equipment.
The South-East Asian manufacturing powerhouse has the fourth-largest trade surplus with the United States, coming in at $123.5 billion ($193b) in 2024.
To reach a compromise, Hanoi may have to overcome Washington's suspicion that Vietnam is helping China circumvent US tariffs.
Taiwan
Taiwan said it held an initial video conference with US officials on April 11.
President Lai Ching-te said the island, which hopes to protect its exporters from tariffs of up to 35 per cent, was "on the US government's first negotiation list".
Confusion over chip, smartphone tariffs unfolds in US
After the Trump administration exempted smartphones and semiconductors from tariffs, the president backtracked and warned no one was "getting off the hook".
Washington is the main guarantor of Taiwan's security in the face of China, which claims the island democracy as its own.
President Trump has not hesitated to link Washington's security relations with Taipei to the trade issue.
About 60 per cent of Taiwan's exports to the United States are tech products, such as semiconductors.
Under pressure, top Taiwanese chip maker TSMC has unveiled plans to invest a further $US100 billion ($156 billion) in the United States.
"We will strive for a fair and competitive tariff for our industry," Taiwan's Economy Minister Kuo Jyh-huei said this week.
South Korea
Seoul has announced billions in dollars of aid for its semiconductor and automobile companies as a buffer against the tariffs.
However, South Korea is also counting on talks, with Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok set to meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent next week.
Kim Dae-jong, an economics expert at South Korea's Sejong University, said Seoul would need to "expand trade centred on the US and reduce our reliance on exports to China to less than half of current levels" to try and appease the Trump administration.
Indonesia and Thailand
Indonesia's Economy Minister Airlangga Hartarto is leading a week-long trade delegation to the United States that started on Wednesday.
US shoppers swap tips to beat tariffs
Chinese factories are trying to sell directly to American consumers on social media platforms in a bid to bypass the 145 per cent tariff hike imposed by Donald Trump.
Jakarta, which is threatened with 32 per cent duties, plans to boost purchases of US products such as hydrocarbons to reduce its $17.9 billion ($28.3b) surplus with Washington.
Thailand's Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira is travelling to Washington from Thursday, with Bangkok poised to commit to buying more US agricultural and energy products.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Thursday that Bangkok has "strong offers" that Mr Chunhavajira will raise during negotiations on April 23.
Singapore and Australia
Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, said he spoke with Mr Greer, the US trade representative, on April 15 to explain the city-state's "unique status as a small open economy".
"We just have to explain this and continue to explain this, and hopefully the US will better understand our situation," Mr Gan said. "We do have a trade deficit with the US."
In Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Canberra had made a proposal to the United States.
"We'll engage diplomatically," he said during the ABC leaders debate with opposition leader Peter Dutton.
He vowed to defend Australia's national interests in the face of the 10 per cent tariff in place.
ABC/wires
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