“It’s not sustainable, but that’s the number,” Trump said in an interview with Fox Business Network that aired Friday. “They made me do it.”
Trump announced a week ago 100% more tariffs on Chinese products arriving in the United States, along with new export controls on “any and all critical computer software” starting November 1, nine days before a tariff pause expires.
The new trade measures were Trump’s reaction to China’s drastic expansion of export controls on rare earth elements, a market for elements essential for the manufacture of technological equipment and which China dominates.
Trump also confirmed that he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in two weeks in South Korea – a meeting he had questioned last week – and expressed his admiration for the Chinese leader.
“I think we’re going to be fine with China, but we have to have a fair deal. It has to be fair,” Trump said on “Mornings with Maria,” which taped Thursday.
