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FRUSTRATED
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin briefed Trump on their first face-to-face meeting with Chinese officials since Trump met Xi at the G20 summit at the end of June and agreed to a ceasefire in the trade war.
"When my people came home, they said, 'We're talking. We have another meeting in early September.' I said, 'That's fine, but until such time as there's a deal, we'll be taxing them," Trump told reporters.
A source familiar with the matter said Trump grew frustrated and composed the tweets shortly after Lighthizer and Mnuchin told him China made no significant movement on its position.
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Previous negotiations collapsed in May, when U.S. officials accused China of backing away from earlier commitments.
American business groups in China expressed disquiet over the latest round of U.S. tariffs. The U.S.-China Business Council said on Friday it was concerned the action "will drive the Chinese from the negotiating table, reducing hope raised by a second round of talks that ended this week in Shanghai.”
"We are particularly concerned about increased regulatory scrutiny, delays in licenses and approvals, and discrimination against U.S. companies in government procurement tenders," said the U.S.-China Business Council's President Craig Allen in an e-mail.
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Ker Gibbs, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, urged both sides to keep talking.
Gibbs said that as market access in China "remains unnecessarily restricted," the United States should continue its dialogue with Beijing, and "also work with like-minded countries to persuade China that fair and reciprocal trade and investment benefits all."
