President Donald Trump has effectively confirmed his negotiating strategy with China: use “not sustainable” tariffs as temporary leverage to secure a permanent “fair deal.”
In an interview, Trump made the key admission that the high tariffs are “not sustainable.” He immediately justified this flawed policy as one China “forced” upon him.
This strategy will be put to the test in two weeks, when Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping. “I think we’re going to be fine with China,” Trump said, “but we have to have a fair deal. It’s got to be fair.”
The meeting, expected at the APEC summit, is urgent. A 90-day trade truce that has paused duties as high as 145% is set to expire on November 10.
Trump continues to defend the tariffs as essential, despite their unsustainability. “If we didn’t have tariffs, we would be exposed as being a nothing,” he stated.