US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (local time) that he wants to have amicable ties with China but would go on with his decision of imposing 155 per cent tariffs on Beijing, as it is one of the largest oil importers of Russia. Briefing the reporters at the Oval Office in White House during Diwali celebrations, Trump said defended his move on tariffs, pointing out that he was able to make trade deals with the European Union (EU), South Korea and Japan because of the duties.
"Right now, as of November 1st, China will have about 155 per cent tariffs put on it. I don't think it's sustainable for them. I want to be nice to China. But China has been very rough with us over the years because we had presidents that weren't smart from a business standpoint," the 79-year-old told news agency ANI.
"I made a deal with the European Union. I made a deal with Japan and South Korea. A lot of these deals are great deals... It's about national security. I was able to do it because of tariffs. We're getting hundreds of billions, even trillions of dollars paid into the United States... We'll start paying off debt," he added.
Earlier this month, the Republican leader announced that the US would impose an additional 100 per cent tariff on all Chinese products from November 1. His move came in response to Beijing's decision to impose restrictions on export of rare earth minerals, particularly those for use in military.
However, Trump had pointed out that he has not cancelled his scheduled meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
Later, China had criticised Trump for his move, and said it is not afraid of the tariffs. In a statement, it also accused the US of adopting "double standards." "The relevant US statement is a typical example of 'double standards. Willful threats of high tariffs are not the right way to get along with China," the Chinese Ministry of Commerce had said.
