US tariff polices are helping countries to negotiate 'real trade deals': Trump

Washington: Following up with a message on reaching trade talks with China, President Donald Trump claimed that his tariff policies are helping countries to negotiate 'real trade deals' with the United States.

"Countries are coming to us wanting to negotiate REAL trade deals, not the one-sided horror show deals made by past administrations. They don't want to be targeted for Tariffs by the US," the president asserted in an early-morning post.

He went on with his continued escalation of tariffs on Chinese goods, saying that Beijing has been "paying us Tens of Billions of Dollars" which has been "made possible by their monetary devaluations" of the economy, along with a jibe at the Federal Reserve, a frequent Trump target.

"Things are going along very well with China," he said.

"They are paying us Tens of Billions of Dollars, made possible by their monetary devaluations and pumping in massive amounts of cash to keep their system going. So far our consumer is paying nothing - and no inflation."
"No help from Fed!" he added.

Barely a day after negotiators from the two sides wrapped up talks in Shanghai, agreeing to meet again in September and keep working on a deal to end their protracted trade war, Trump announced on Thursday that he would impose a 10 per cent tariff on the remaining USD 300 billion worth of untaxed imports from China.

This means everything that China sells to the US, including clothes and iPhones to chemicals and construction equipment, will have levies of between 10 and 25 per cent on them starting in September.

China's government, which had previously called this week's talks "constructive," issued angry warnings to the Trump administration over the action, which is designed to pressure Beijing into agreeing to fairer trading practices, according to The Washington Post.

Beijing on Friday sharply criticised Trump's decision to slap additional tariffs on Chinese exports, saying it will have to take "necessary countermeasures" to defend its core national interests and its people's fundamental interests.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that the 10 per cent tariff hikes by the US were a "serious violation" of the consensus reached by the two sides at the G20 summit in Osaka.