Trump Vows to Call Xi If Elected, Press Him to Honor Trade Deal
(Bloomberg) -- Former President Donald Trump accused China of failing to honor a deal he made with the country to buy $50 billion in US agricultural exports and vowed to raise the matter with Chinese President Xi Jinping if the Republican nominee returns to the White House.
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“My first call, I’m going to call up President Xi and say you have to honor the deal you made,” Trump said Monday at an event in swing-state Pennsylvania focused on China and threats to US farmers and the nation’s food supply.
“You made a deal, you’d buy $50 billion worth of American farm product. And I guarantee you he will buy it, 100%, he will buy it,” he added.
Trump as president reached a so-called “phase one” trade deal with China in early 2020 that saw the US reduce some duties in exchange for China pledging to increase its purchases of US exports, including $50 billion of agricultural goods. But actual purchases fell short of that vow, with China importing less than 60% of the promised goods and services — covering food, energy and manufactured products through December 2021, according to a study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
The Republican presidential nominee on Monday assailed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris — his November election rival — saying the current administration had failed to enforce the deal.
China, the world’s second largest economy, has emerged as a top target in the presidential race between Trump and Harris as both candidates vow to take a tough stance against Beijing and its growing military and economic influence.
Monday’s event was organized by the Protecting America Initiative, which describes itself as a group “committed to stopping Chinese influence” in the US. Its senior advisers include former Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell and former US Representative Lee Zeldin, both of whom joined Trump for the discussion.
The former president heard from farmers about the challenges they face, using the opportunity to tout his pledge to hit both US allies and adversaries with tariffs if he secures a second White House term. Trump has vowed to impose a 60% tariff on China and has threatened a 100% tariff on Chinese cars made in Mexico – part of a broader agenda that would upend global trade. As president, Trump placed tariffs on more than $300 billion of Chinese goods.
Harris is largely expected to hew to Biden’s approach of “intensive diplomacy,” keeping communication with Beijing open and highlighting areas where the nations can cooperate even as the administration looks to make the US more competitive with China and restrict its access to cutting edge technologies with national security implications.
Over the weekend, Biden hosted the Quad Leaders Summit in Delaware, bringing together the prime ministers of India, Australia and Japan, part of an effort to strengthen ties with US allies in the Indo-Pacific as a counterweight to China. During a hot mic moment, Biden was heard telling other leaders that China is “testing” the US and its allies in the region.
Earlier: China ‘Testing Us All,’ Biden Says at Indo-Pacific Summit
The Biden administration this year has taken a number of steps to tighten the screws on China, including finalizing new tariffs on Chinese goods, cracking down on de minimis exemptions for Chinese shipments of cheap products and curbing shipments of steel and aluminum from China and elsewhere through Mexico.
“Donald Trump used the White House to give handouts to wealthy corporations and foreign companies at the expense of family farmers, drive farm bankruptcies to record levels, and sacrifice small American farmers as pawns in his failed trade war with China,” Harris campaign spokesman Joseph Costello said in a statement Monday.
Earlier: Harris Says Trump ‘Sold Us Out’ to China, Slams His Praise of Xi
Trump’s event in Pennsylvania comes ahead of a rally he is slated to hold in the state later Monday. Pennsylvania has emerged as the top battleground in the fight between Harris and Trump and a state that underscores the importance of the economy in the race. An August Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll shows a tight race, with Harris leading Trump in Pennsylvania by four percentage points.
Both Trump and Harris have crisscrossed western Pennsylvania, looking to court blue-collar workers and rural communities worried wages and jobs as well as high prices that have burdened US households.
--With assistance from Stephanie Lai.
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