President Trump urged China Saturday to "act now" on trade or face a "far worse" deal if he were elected for a second term.
....The only problem is that they know I am going to win (best economy & employment numbers in U.S. history, & much more), and the deal will become far worse for them if it has to be negotiated in my second term. Would be wise for them to act now, but love collecting BIG TARIFFS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 11, 2019
Why it matters: The Trump administration increased tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods from 10% to 25% overnight on Friday. U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement Trump "also ordered us to begin the process of raising tariffs on essentially all remaining imports from China," valued to be about $300 billion. China's Commerce Ministry said Wednesday it would retaliate with "necessary countermeasures" if the U.S. increased tariffs.
The big picture: The administration has accused China of "reneging" on its trade commitments, per Axios' Jonathan Swan. China's Vice Premier Liu He denied Beijing had "backtracked" on agreements, saying the 2 countries just had "disagreements over how to write some of the text," the Financial Times reported Saturday, citing Chinese media.
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