President Donald Trump celebrated his recent agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping to put U.S. tariffs on hold in exchange for trade concessions, in a series of Sunday and Monday tweets.
China has agreed to reduce and remove tariffs on cars coming into China from the U.S. Currently the tariff is 40%.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2018
My meeting in Argentina with President Xi of China was an extraordinary one. Relations with China have taken a BIG leap forward! Very good things will happen. We are dealing from great strength, but China likewise has much to gain if and when a deal is completed. Level the field!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2018
Farmers will be a a very BIG and FAST beneficiary of our deal with China. They intend to start purchasing agricultural product immediately. We make the finest and cleanest product in the World, and that is what China wants. Farmers, I LOVE YOU!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2018
President Xi and I have a very strong and personal relationship. He and I are the only two people that can bring about massive and very positive change, on trade and far beyond, between our two great Nations. A solution for North Korea is a great thing for China and ALL!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2018
Trump struck the agreement with Xi at a dinner in Buenos Aires, Argentina during the annual G20 summit in which they agreed to forestall planned U.S. tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars in Chinese goods.
U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping at their joint press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (Photo by Kyodo News via Getty Images)
“China will agree to purchase a not yet agreed upon, but very substantial, amount of agricultural, energy, industrial, and other product from the United States to reduce the trade imbalance between our two countries. China has agreed to start purchasing agricultural product from our farmers immediately,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said after the dinner.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump attend a welcoming ceremony November 9, 2017 in Beijing, China. Trump is on a 10-day trip to Asia. (Photo by Thomas Peter-Pool/Getty Images)
The White House also emphasized that Xi agreed “to designate Fentanyl as a Controlled Substance, meaning that people selling Fentanyl to the United States will be subject to China’s maximum penalty under the law.” The Chinese classification of the deadly chemical is expected to mitigate some U.S. deaths from the opioid crisis.
Sanders continued in her statement that “President Trump and President Xi have agreed to immediately begin negotiations on structural changes with respect to forced technology transfer, intellectual property protection, non-tariff barriers, cyber intrusions and cyber theft, services and agriculture. Both parties agree that they will endeavor to have this transaction completed within the next 90 days,” adding however that “if at the end of this period of time, the parties are unable to reach an agreement, the 10% tariffs will be raised to 25%.”