4 hr 32 min ago
Trump says he won’t play "hard ball” with China and tariffs won’t be as high as 145%
From CNN's Alejandra Jaramillo
President Donald Trump said today the United States will not be playing “hard ball” with China, telling reporters in the Oval Office that tariffs on China won’t ultimately be “anywhere near” the current 145%.
Asked if the US was going to play hardball with China in order to make a deal, or if officials would mention the Covid-19 pandemic, Trump quickly responded: “No.”
“I’m not going to mention Covid. I’m not going to say: ‘Oh, I’m going to play hardball with China. I’m going to play hardball with you, President Xi,’” Trump said.
“No, no, we’re going to be very nice. They’re going to be very nice, and we’ll see what happens,” the president added. “But ultimately, they have to make a deal, because otherwise they’re not going to be able to deal in the United States, and we want them involved.”
Speaking on the additional tariffs he slapped on China, Trump said that 145% is “very high” and that “it won’t be that high.”
“It won’t be anywhere near that high. It’ll come down substantially, but it won’t be zero,” Trump said. “Used to be zero.”
The president later reiterated he thinks the US will make a deal with China.
“I think we’re going to live together very happily and ideally work together, so I think it’s going to work out very well,” he said.