Trump says tariffs on China ‘not sustainable’, blames Beijing ahead of Xi Meet

US President Donald Trump said that tariffs imposed by him on China were “not sustainable” as he accused Beijing of leaving him with no choice but to take the step. The comments come ahead of Trump’s expected meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

“It’s not sustainable,” President Trump said during an interview with Fox Business, parts of which were released on Friday (October 17).

Trump was responding to a question about whether tariffs imposed by Washington and Beijing on each other would continue to remain in force.

‘They made me do that’

“But that’s what the number is, it’s probably not, you know, it could stand, but they forced me to do that,” said Trump during the interview, reported the Hindustan Times.

The US President also said that he would meet Xi Jinping, adding that he was hoping things would be fine with China.

However, Trump also said that China was always looking for an edge, and he does not know what will happen. “China is always looking for an edge. I don’t know what’s going to happen. We’ll see what happens,” said Trump.

Also Read: China warns US of ‘firm countermeasures’ over Russian oil trade sanctions

Trump’s tariff strikes and pauses

The US President has imposed tariffs on Chinese goods as high as 145 per cent. However, those tariffs were paused with a series of 90-day truces, the latest of which will expire on November 10.

Last week, the US President threatened to impose an additional 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods by November 1 and even spoke about the prospect of cancelling the meeting with Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea later this month.

“I get along great with him (Xi). I think we’re going to be fine with China, but we have to have a fair deal. It’s got to be fair,” added Trump.

Also Read: Want no tariff war but not afraid of one: China after Trump’s 100 pc threat

China warns of countermeasures

Apart from tariffs, the relationship between the world’s two largest economies has also turned sour, with China warning the US of “farm countermeasures” if Washington imposes unilateral sanctions over Beijing’s continued oil imports from Russia.

Along with India, Trump has dubbed China as the “primary funders” of Russia’s war in Ukraine.