Trump Says Dealing 'Nicely' With China As Tariff Deadline Looms
While the United States and China slapped escalating tariffs on each other's products this year, reaching prohibitive triple-digit levels and snarling trade, both countries in May agreed to temporarily lower them.
But their 90-day halt in steeper levies is due to expire Tuesday, and all eyes are now on a path forward.
Asked about the deadline on Monday, Trump said: "We'll see what happens. They've been dealing quite nicely. The relationship is very good with President Xi (Jinping) and myself."
Trump also touted the tariff revenue his country has collected this year, saying "we've been dealing very nicely with China."
"We hope that the US will work with China to follow the important consensus reached during the phone call between the two heads of state," said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian in a statement.
He added that Beijing also hopes Washington will "strive for positive outcomes on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit."
Although both sides reached a pact to de-escalate tensions after high level talks in Geneva in May, their truce has been shaky.
In June, key economic officials convened in London as disagreements emerged and US officials accused their counterparts of violating the pact. Policymakers again met in Stockholm last month.
Even as both countries appeared to be seeking to push back the reinstatement of duties, US trade envoy Jamieson Greer said last month that Trump will have the "final call" on any such extension.
Last week, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in an interview that it is likely Trump will further the pause by another 90 days.
The White House did not respond to queries about the matter on Monday.
Trump said in a social media post late Sunday that he hoped China will "quickly quadruple its soybean orders," adding that this would be a way to balance trade with the United States.
For now, fresh US tariffs on Chinese goods this year stand at 30 percent, while Beijing's corresponding levy on US products is at 10 percent.
Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has slapped a 10-percent "reciprocal" tariff on almost all trading partners, aimed at addressing trade practices Washington deemed unfair.
This surged to varying, steeper levels last Thursday for dozens of economies.
Major partners like the European Union, Japan and South Korea now see a 15-percent US duty on many products, while the level went as high as 41 percent for Syria.
The "reciprocal" tariffs exclude sectors that have been separately targeted, such as steel and aluminum, and those that are being investigated like pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
Trump has also taken separate aim at individual countries such as Brazil over the trial of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of planning a coup, and India over its purchase of Russian oil.
Canada and Mexico come under a different tariff regime.
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What Ukrainians expect of the Putin-Trump summit – DW – 08/13/2025
Are Ukrainian experts and politicians optimistic about the upcoming talks between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska? Or do they doubt there will be a real breakthrough? Soon after the August 15 meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska was announced, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put out a video warning against excluding his country from the talks: "Any decisions made against us, any decisions made without Ukraine, are decisions made against peace. They will not work." Many Ukrainians share this view, according to a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) in late July and early August. "Ukrainians remain open to negotiations and making difficult decisions," Anton Hruschezkyj of KIIS told DW. "The absolute majority, however, continues to reject demands for [Ukrainian] surrender." According to the survey, 76% of Ukrainians reject Russia's "peace plan" and the idea of making concessions to Russia. At the same time, 49% oppose the US peace plan that entails security guarantees for Ukraine from European countries but not from the US, recognizes Crimea as part of the Russian Federation, maintains Russian control over Ukraine's occupied territories, and lifts sanctions against Russia. Ukrainians do not rule out that the upcoming negotiations between Putin and Trump, which will not have Ukrainian or European representatives present, will be aimed at forcing Ukraine to capitulate. "The Russians never changed their negotiating stance and will not do so as long as they do not suffer serious military and political defeats," Volodymyr Horbach of the Ukrainian Institute for Northern Eurasia Transformation (INET) told DW. The fact that Trump is talking to Putin without first pressuring Russia to change its stance shows that this approach is doomed to failure, Horbach says. "The Russians will stick to their position and want to offer a ceasefire in return for Ukraine's de facto surrender, in other words, fulfilling Russian demands. So calling this concessions is very naive," Horbach said. The analyst does not regard the upcoming Putin-Trump talks as a disaster, but says they signal an "alarming trend" as Trump is "legitimizing Russian war criminal Vladimir Putin, which is unacceptable to Ukraine and Europe." Horbach said he sees "no possibility of implementing any real, practical outcomes of these negotiations in the context of the Ukrainian-Russian war. The proposals that Putin may make will satisfy neither Ukraine nor the European Union." He added that "Trump will have to maneuver, he will not be able to force Ukraine and its European partners to accept Putin's terms." Ukraine was in a similar situation in March 2025, says Dmytro Levus, who heads the Ukrainian Meridian Social Research Center. At the time, Donald Trump believed that the war could be quickly ended by negotiating with Russia and enforcing a peace agreement based on Ukraine's surrender. Lifting sanctions on Russia, however, proved impossible, as most of them had been imposed by the Europeans, Levus said. He believes that after this Alaska meeting, the US and Russia will once again have to face reality — Ukrainian forces continue defending their country and Ukrainian's European partners will not unconditionally accept and implement any deal agreed between Putin and Trump. "Ukraine's position, as stated by Zelenskyy, is clear and correct: the [Ukrainian] constitution does not allow for the ceding of [Ukrainian] territory," Levus told DW. "That is why I do not expect anything meaningful to come out of the Alaska meeting." Iryna Herashchenko, one of the leaders of Ukraine's opposition European Solidarity Party, says the Putin-Trump meeting represents a challenge for the entire international security system. 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Germany rejects US censorship claims in human rights report – DW – 08/13/2025
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Ukraine updates: 'A ceasefire must come first,' Merz says – DW – 08/13/2025
After a video call with US President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stressed that "a ceasefire must come first in any agreement" regarding Ukraine. DW has more. European and Ukrainian leaders have talked with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday afternoon. They wanted to warn him not to compromise Kyiv's interests while seeking a ceasefire deal in his meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin on Friday. The meeting has raised concerns that Trump may pressure Ukraine into a bad deal. He has suggested that both sides should give up some territory to end the war."A ceasefire must come first in any agreement," said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Berlin after the teleconference with US President Donald Trump. Merz added that a legal recognition of Russian ownership of Ukraine cannot happen. 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As we wait for details on the talks, here's where things stand on the front line in Ukraine: The Russian army on Wednesday said it had captured two villages near the coal-mining town of Dobropillia — around 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the key strategic city of Pokrovsk. "The settlements of Suvorovo and Nikanorivka in the Donetsk People's Republic have been liberated," Russia's Defence Ministry said on social media, referring to Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Moscow has made rapid gains in the area in recent days. Russia currently controls 114,500 square kilometers (44,600 square miles), or 19%, of Ukraine, including all of Crimea, all of Luhansk, and more than 70% of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has arranged a series of virtual meetings in an attempt to have the voice of Europe and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy heard ahead of the summit between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday. Here is what is happening this afternoon: US President Donald Trump took to his Truth social media platform to say he would speak to "European Leaders in a short while." "They are great people who want to see a deal done," he added. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived at Chancellor Friedrich Merz's office in Berlin to join him and other European leaders for a video call with US President Donald Trump. Zelenskyy was welcomed by Merz, who organized the video conferences on short notice in a bid to make sure Kyiv and its European partners remain in the loop amid Trump's talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. Russia dismissed virtual talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European leaders and US President Donald Trump as "insignificant." "We consider the consultations sought by the Europeans to be politically and practically insignificant," Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexey Fadeev said. "The Europeans verbally support the diplomatic efforts of Washington and Moscow to resolve the crisis around Ukraine, but in fact the European Union is sabotaging them," he added. On Tuesday, the EU warned against redrawing Ukrainian borders by force. The warning followed comments by Trump, who said Ukraine would have to give up some Russian-held territory. He made the remarks ahead of Friday's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Russian President Vladimir Putin's position on ending the war in Ukraine has remained unchanged since June 2024, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexey Fadeev said. At the time, Putin said Russia would agree to a ceasefire and enter peace talks if Ukraine withdrew its forces from four regions claimed by Moscow. "Ukrainian troops must be completely withdrawn from the Donetsk People's Republic, the Luhansk People's Republic, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions," Putin said, referring to regions of Ukraine that Russia has illegally claimed to control. He also said Kyiv would need to abandon any ambitions of joining NATO. US President Donald Trump and Putin are expected to discuss a path toward ending Moscow's war in Ukraine during a face-to-face meeting on Friday. Trump said he wants to determine whether Putin is serious about ending the four-year war, calling the summit a "feel-out meeting" to gauge the Russian leader's intentions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has not been invited to Friday's meeting, said there is "currently no sign that the Russians are preparing to end the war." Estonia is expelling a Russian diplomat over "ongoing interference" in the NATO and EU member nation's affairs, the Baltic country's Foreign Ministry said. The first secretary of the Russian embassy in Tallinn has been declared persona non grata by Estonia and must leave the country. "The diplomat in question has been directly and actively involved in undermining the constitutional order and legal system of Estonia, as well as in dividing Estonian society, contributing to the crimes against the state, including several offences related to sanctions violations," Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said. "The Russian embassy's ongoing interference in the internal affairs of the Republic of Estonia must end," he added. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexei Fadeev described the expulsion as a hostile act that would prompt a response Viktor Orban, who is Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest ally in Europe, said Ukraine has lost the war against Russia. The Hungarian prime minister told the far-right conservative news site "The Ukrainians have lost this war, Russia has won the war. "We are talking like this was a situation of war with an open end," Orban added. On Tuesday, Orban was the only EU leader who did not back a declaration calling for Ukrainian and European involvement in peace talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. The statement demanded that Ukraine's territorial integrity be ensured, stating that "international borders must not be changed by force." But Orban said the declaration "set conditions for negotiations to which EU leaders were not even invited." The Hungarian leader has consistently opposed EU measures to punish Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine and its allies must pressure Russia to ensure a just peace. "We must learn from the experience of Ukraine and our partners to prevent deception on the part of Russia. There are currently no signs that the Russians are preparing to end the war," Zelenskyy said on social media. The Ukrainian president was traveling to Berlin to join Chancellor Merz in video calls with European leaders and US President Donald Trump ahead of a US-Russia summit at a US military base outside Anchorage, Alaska. Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will hold a media conference in Berlin this afternoon, according to the German Chancellery's schedule. The conference, scheduled for 4 p.m. local time (1400 GMT), will follow virtual talks with US President Donald Trump ahead of his planned summit on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. With Donald Trump's summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska approaching, territorial concessions in exchange for peace are high on the agenda. Trump has talked about Russia and Ukraine "swapping land," but how feasible is that? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend a trio of video calls in person with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is hosting the meetings with US President Donald Trump as well as European leaders. "The president is working in Berlin today," Zelenskyy's spokesperson said, adding that a bilateral meeting with Merz is also planned. US President Donald Trump will speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a virtual meeting hosted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The meeting comes two days before Trump is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. Merz has invited Zelenskyy, along with leaders from France, the United Kingdom, and other EU and NATO officials, to join the call ahead of the talks with Trump. Trump and Vice President JD Vance will then participate in a second round of discussions. Afterward, Ukraine's military European backers, including Germany, France and the UK, will also convene. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The talks come ahead of Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, their first since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago. EU leaders have reaffirmed Ukraine's right to self-determination and rejected any changes to borders by force. Zelenskyy has ruled out withdrawing troops from the Donbas region. Merz's office said Wednesday's discussions will focus on increasing pressure on Russia and preparing for potential peace negotiations.
