In words Trump and Xi Jinping they would seem to be on the way to finding a agreement to tone down the ferocity trade war in progress, as international financial operators also hope. In fact, the sparks continue to fly and not a day goes by without news of moves and countermoves from one side and the other.
Just yesterday the US president said he was reluctant to continue to increase tariffs on China, realizing that this could block trade between the two countries and suggesting that he might be open to lowering them. “I don’t want them to go up because then you get to the point where people don’t buy anymore. So I might not want to raise them, or I might not want to get to that level,” Trump said. “I might want to lower them because, you know, I want people to buy,” Trump said to reporters at the White House on tariffs. Trump has imposed 10% tariffs on most goods entering the country, but has delayed imposing higher taxes pending negotiations. He has, however, raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 145% after Beijing responded with its own 125% tariffs on the United States. Last week, China said it was “not responding” to a “numbers game with tariffs,” but has shown it is willing to act in other ways.
The US president also insisted yesterday that Beijing has repeatedly reached out to him in an attempt to broker a deal. Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, said officials he believed represented Chinese leader Xi Jinping had tried to initiate talks. But he repeatedly dodged direct questions about whether he and Xi had been in direct contact, reports Bloomberg. “I have a great relationship with President Xi and I think that will continue. And I would say they have reached out several times,” Trump said. Asked whether Xi himself had reached out directly or whether Chinese officials had reached out, Trump said: “Well, the same thing. I see it very similar. It would be the top brass of China. He knows everything and he runs everything very carefully, very forcefully, very intelligently.” In recent days, China has called for greater respect from the U.S., curbing disparaging remarks from members of its cabinet.
Yesterday Trump also returned to the topic of TikTok. The US president expressed confidence in a deal that would include trade concessions and a deal to sell TikTok’s US operations. “Well, we have a deal for TikTok, but it’s going to be subject to China, so we’re going to put the deal on hold until that gets resolved,” he said.
Nonetheless, the US administration has taken steps to enforce taxes on Chinese ships docking at U.S. ports, threatening to disrupt global trade routes and escalate the trade war between the world's two largest economies. And on the other hand, China has stopped purchasing liquefied gas from the United States, while on this very issue the Prime Minister Meloni she said yesterday that she was willing to increase purchases.
China halts purchases of US-branded liquefied gas
For about ten weeks now, China has completely stopped its imports of liquefied natural gas (American LNG), as written by the Financial Times, which cites the navigation data.
Since a 69.000-ton LNG tanker from Corpus Christi, Texas, arrived in the southern province of Fujian on Feb. 6, no further shipments have been recorded between the two countries, the FT, reporting that a second tanker was diverted to Bangladesh after China imposed a 10% tariff on US LNG on February 15. The tariff later rose to 49%, making US gas unaffordable for Chinese buyers. A blockade of US LNG imports occurred during Trump's first term, when Beijing blocked imports for a year. However, the impression is that this time the disruption could be more permanent, if not structural.
Meanwhile Beijing is tightening agreements with Russia. “China stands ready to work with Russia, firmly adhering to the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, and continue to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in the energy sector, to provide reliable guarantees for national energy security and bring real benefits to the people of both countries,” said Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, who met with Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev yesterday.
US imposes port tariffs on Chinese ships
Another retaliatory move comes from the US. Today China protested the US decision to impose higher Port charges for ships built in China and those operated by Chinese companies. “I would like to reiterate that imposing additional port tariffs and duties on cargo-handling equipment harms others as well as itself,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian. “It increases global shipping costs, destabilizes supply chains and increases inflationary pressures in the United States, ultimately harming American consumers and businesses, but it does not revive the U.S. shipbuilding industry.”
It is not clear what would be the decisive factor in moving the talks forward, nor how a possible agreement might be structured.
