US President Donald Trump reiterated that he could impose additional tariffs on Chinese imports if he wanted to. This was after he promised to hold off on slapping more duties in a trade-war truce he reached with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping last month. “We have a long way to go as far as tariffs where China is concerned, if we want. We have another US$325 billion ($442 billion) we can put a tariff on, if we want,” Trump said on July 17. In an immediate response, China said further levies would complicate the negotiations. “If the US imposes new tariffs, this would create a new obstacle for US and China trade negotiations, [and] would make the road to coming to an agreement longer,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang. “China still hopes to resolve US-China trade frictions through consultation and dialogue.” Trump and Xi called a tariff ceasefire and agreed to resume trade talks after meeting at the Group of 20 summit in Japan in late June, breaking a six-week stalemate. Trump said he was holding off on a threat to impose tariffs on an additional US$300 billion in Chinese imports. In return, Xi agreed to buy large amounts of US farm goods.
SINGAPORE (July 22): “Carrying around their cup was a status symbol. They were the first store in New York to offer extra virgin olive oil. Now Amazon has extra virgin olive oil. Everyone has extra virgin olive oil.” — Restaurant critic Joshua David Stein, on reports that premium grocer Dean and DeLuca’s is struggling to survive after 42 years in the business.
Trump threatens to impose more tariffs on China
