'So Much For Being Mr. NICE GUY': Trump Accuses China Of Violating Trade Agreement

Donald Trump has accused China of violating its trade agreement with the United States.

Photo Credit: ANI

United States President Donald Trump on Friday accused China of violating its trade agreement with the US and added that this is what he got for being 'Mr. NICE GUY'. 

In a post on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump said that the very high tariffs that the US had set made it "virtually impossible" for China to trade into the country's marketplace.

"Two weeks ago China was in grave economic danger! The very high Tariffs I set made it virtually impossible for China to TRADE into the United States marketplace which is, by far, number one in the World. We went, in effect, COLD TURKEY with China, and it was devastating for them. Many factories closed and there was, to put it mildly, “civil unrest.” I saw what was happening and didn’t like it, for them, not for us," Trump wrote.

In his post, Trump continued to say that he had made a fast deal with China to save them but Beijing has "violated" the agreement. 

"I made a FAST DEAL with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation, and I didn’t want to see that happen. Because of this deal, everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual. Everybody was happy! That is the good news!!! The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!" he added. 

On April 2, Trump introduced his "reciprocal" tariffs, putting duties on imports from some of the US’s key trading partners. A week later, he paused the implementation for 90 days. 

Despite the delay, a universal 10 percent tariff on most imported goods remained in effect, as per ANI.

Court Blocks Trump's Tariffs

A US federal court on Wednesday ruled against Trump's imposition of tariffs, deeming that this move exceeds his legal authority and that it would affect a wide range of imported goods, according to ANI, CNN reported. The decision, handed down by the US Court of International Trade in Manhattan, determined that the tariffs, including those introduced under emergency economic powers, were unlawful; however, the Trump administration has already filed an appeal. 

As per CNN, the court's decision halted the enforcement of most of the tariffs, including the 30 percent duties on Chinese imports, 25 percent on certain goods from Mexico and Canada, and a general 10 percent tariff on many other imports. However, the ruling does not apply to tariffs on autos, steel, and aluminium, which were enacted under a different law of the US Trade Expansion Act.

After this, the Trump administration is demanding that the decision be suspended, and the White House Press Secretary Karine Leavitt said, "We will win this battle in court", in a press briefing and said the administration is working to "tackle rogue judges."

US-China Trade Talks In Geneva

Earlier, the US had announced a trade deal with China in Geneva, a statement by the White House said. According to ANI, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent had informed about ‘substantial progress’ between the parties.

The statement quoted Bessent as saying, “I'm happy to report that we made substantial progress between the United States and China in the very important trade talks. First, I want to thank our Swiss host. The Swiss government has been very kind in providing us this wonderful venue, and I think that led to a great deal of productivity we've seen. We will be giving details tomorrow, but I can tell you that the talks were productive.”

"We had the vice premier, two vice ministers, who were integrally involved, Ambassador Jamieson, and myself. And I spoke to President Trump, as did Ambassador Jamieson, last night, and he is fully informed of what is going on. So, there will be a complete briefing tomorrow morning," the statement added.

On the other hand, a US team is scheduled to visit India from June 5 to 6 for the next round of negotiations on a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) between the two nations.

(with ANI inputs)