Trump doubles down on trade war with China and warns: 'If countries will not make fair deals with us, they will be "Tariffed!"'

pulse

September 17, 2018 11:56 AM

Trump tweeted: "Tariffs have put the U.S. in a very strong bargaining position, with Billions of Dollars, and Jobs, flowing into our Country - and yet cost increases have thus far been almost unnoticeable."

US President Donald Trump escalated his trade war rhetoric on Monday, threatening unspecified countries with tariffs is they "will not make fair deals with us."

The US is currently engaged in a trade war with China and is expected to levy new tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports on Monday, on top of the $50 billion of tariffs in place.

Many US businesses have warned that the new rounds of tariffs threaten to increase prices of everyday goods for Americans — everything from baby seats to bikes.

Trump defended his policies in an early morning Tweet on Monday, writing: "Tariffs have put the U.S. in a very strong bargaining position, with Billions of Dollars, and Jobs, flowing into our Country - and yet cost increases have thus far been almost unnoticeable. If countries will not make fair deals with us, they will be "Tariffed!""

Tariffs have put the U.S. i... @ Donald J. Trump

He followed that tweet up with another one a few minutes later that said: "Our Steel Industry is the talk of the World. It has been given new life, and is thriving. Billions of Dollars is being spent on new plants all around the country!"

The statements come as relations between the US and China appear to strain. There had been hopes of a resolution on trade between the two but news of the planned fresh US tariffs have sparked anger in Beijing.

China is reportedly threatening to pull out of trade negotiations if the US levies new tariffs and the Foreign Ministry said on Monday it would respond in kind if the US levies fresh tariffs.

Chinese tabloid the Global Times, which is owned by the state, said in an editorial on Monday: "We are looking forward to a more beautiful counter-attack and will keep increasing the pain felt by the U.S."

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