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TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Jun25/03) Geneva, 3 Jun (D. Ravi Kanth) — China on 2 June firmly hit back against what it called “unwarranted” accusations by United States President Donald Trump and his senior officials that Beijing is not respecting the interim agreement reached between the two countries in Geneva last month, insisting that Washington has seemingly resorted to a series of “discriminatory and restrictive measures” over the last few weeks, statements have suggested. China’s strong statement seems to suggest that it is not going to accept some of the recent US export sanctions on the sale of advanced US products to China as well as a spate of restrictions that would be imposed against countries if they use advanced chips made by Huawei, a leading Chinese technology company, said analysts. More importantly, the Chinese Commerce Ministry’s rejection of the US claims also indicates that the two sides are unlikely to reach an enduring truce anytime soon, said analysts. It all began with President Trump and subsequently his Treasury, trade and commerce officials launching a series of criticisms against China on 30 May, accusing it of not implementing the interim agreement reached between the two countries in Geneva last month. In a post on his social media website Truth Social on 30 May, President Trump wrote, “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,” he claimed, adding: “We went, in effect, COLD TURKEY with China, and it was devastating for them.” Again claiming that “many factories closed and there was, to put it mildly, “civil unrest”,” President Trump said that he “saw what was happening and didn’t like it, for them, not for us.” President Trump said that he “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,” said President Trump, insisting that: “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!” Other senior US officials also made similar accusatory claims against China over the past few days, saying that China is not removing its export restrictions on the supply of critical minerals that are vital for several advanced hi-tech areas, according to media reports. However, since the signing of the interim accord with China in Geneva on 12 May, the US has chosen to take several measures in technology and other areas, including the threat of revoking the visas of Chinese students currently studying in American universities. According to a report in the Financial Times on 2 June, US officials had raised the issue of Chinese restrictions on critical minerals several times, emphasizing that the supply of critical minerals is of highest importance to the US. CHINA’S RESPONSE On 2 June, a spokesperson from China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said that China implemented the bilateral interim accord without fail, while pointing out that Washington resorted to a series of “discriminatory and restrictive measures” in recent weeks undermining the Geneva accord. “If the US insists on going its own way and continues to harm China’s interests, China will continue to take strong and resolute measures to safeguard its legitimate rights,” the MOFCOM spokesperson said. China said that it took appropriate measures by cancelling or suspending relevant tariff and non-tariff measures targeting the US “reciprocal tariffs”. Beijing said it has earnestly addressed, strictly implemented, and actively upheld the consensus of the economic and trade talks held in Geneva, according to a report in China’s Global Times on 2 June. According to the MOFCOM statement, the US chose to introduce “multiple discriminatory restrictions against China, including issuing AI chip export control guidance, halting sales of chip design software – electronic design automation (EDA) – to China,” while simultaneously announcing the revocation of visas for Chinese students. The US actions “seriously violate the consensus reached during the January 17 phone call between the two heads of state,” China said, noting that such actions by Washington significantly harmed China’s legitimate rights and interests. Further, according to the Global Times report, the “US has continuously provoked new trade frictions, exacerbating uncertainty and instability in bilateral trade relations.” “Instead of reflecting on its own actions, it unjustly shifts blame, baselessly accusing China of violating the consensus, which gravely deviates from the facts. China firmly rejects these unwarranted accusations, the [MOFCOM] spokesperson said,” according to the Global Times report. As per the US-China joint statement of 12 May, both countries had agreed to establish a mechanism to address some of the concerns raised by both sides. Subsequently, there have been no indications as to when such a mechanism would come into play and whether it will be established following the “tit-for-tat” accusations, said analysts. As the trade-related tensions appear to have taken a turn for the worse, the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on 1 June that he is “confident that when President Trump and Party Chairman Xi have a call, that this will be ironed out.” “The fact that they are withholding some of the products that they agreed to release during our agreement – maybe it’s a glitch in the Chinese system, maybe it’s intentional. We will see after the President speaks with the [Chinese] Party Chairman,” the Treasury Secretary said. “ECONOMIC RUIN” Meanwhile, in separate development, President Trump has indirectly warned the US courts that if his tariffs are blocked, the US economy would suffer for years to come. “If the Courts somehow rule against us on Tariffs, which is not expected, that would allow other Countries to hold our Nation hostage with their anti-American Tariffs that they would use against us. This would mean the Economic ruination of the United States of America!” President Trump said in his Truth Social media post on 1 June. President Trump’s remarks came following the ruling issued by the New York-based Court of International Trade (CIT) on 28 May that found that his invoking of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose the “reciprocal” tariffs is illegal and unconstitutional. The CIT’s ruling was immediately stayed by a federal appeals court. However, officials said the US will press ahead with its ongoing negotiations with countries over the reciprocal tariffs regardless of the court proceedings. “Rest assured, tariffs are not going away,” the US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in an interview on Fox News on 1 June. President Trump seems to have escalated the tariff war, announcing that he intends to hike tariffs on imported steel and aluminium products from 25% to 50%. “We are going to be imposing a 25% increase. We are going to bring it from 25% to 50% – the tariffs on steel into the United States of America, which will even further secure the steel industry in the United States,” President Trump said at a rally in Pennsylvania on 30 May. He wrote in his Truth Social website that: “It is my great honor to raise the Tariffs on steel and aluminum from 25% to 50%, effective Wednesday, June 4th. Our steel and aluminum industries are coming back like never before. This will be yet another BIG jolt of great news for our wonderful steel and aluminum workers. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” +
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