Trump downplays China's retaliatory tariffs and ‘in no rush' to talk to Xi
Robert Delaney in Washington Published: 5:27am, 5 Feb 2025 US President Donald Trump dismissed the implications of retaliatory measures that Beijing enacted against the United States following Washington's imposition of 10 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports on Tuesday, adding he is 'in no rush' to talk to his Chinese President Xi Jinping .
'That's fine. It's fine,' Trump told reporters asking about Beijing's tit-for-tat response. 'We're going to do very well against China and against everybody else. Right now, they've taken advantage of the Biden administration like I've never seen.
'The deficit with China is about a trillion dollars. Think of it, a trillion dollars. They're using our money to build their military,' he added.
The White House in a February 1 fact sheet stated that 'in 2023 the US trade deficit in goods was the world's largest at over US$1 trillion'.
According to US government data, America's trade deficit with China was US$270 billion in 2024, down from US$279 billion in 2023. China announced plans to impose retaliatory tariffs on a range of American goods from February 10, including 15 per cent duty on coal and natural gas imports and 10 per cent on petroleum, agricultural equipment, high-emission vehicles and pickup trucks.
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