BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - While the U.S. and China have recently engaged in tit-for-tat tariff announcements, President Donald Trump has dismissed the idea that he is instigating a trade war.
Trump argued in a post on Twitter on Wednesday that the trade war with China was already lost because of the policies of previous administrations.
'We are not in a trade war with China, that war was lost many years ago by the foolish, or incompetent, people who represented the U.S.,' Trump tweeted,
'Now we have a Trade Deficit of $500 Billion a year, with Intellectual Property Theft of another $300 Billion,' he added. 'We cannot let this continue!'
The tweet from Trump came after China issued a list of 106 U.S. products that will be subject to additional tariffs.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said it plans to impose a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion worth of U.S. exports, including aircraft, cars, and soybeans.
The announcement by China came shortly after the U.S. Trade Representative published a proposed list of products imported from China that could be subject to additional tariffs.
The publication of the list came after Trump announced last month that he planned to impose about $50 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods over intellectual-property violations.
The USTR said the sectors subject to the proposed tariffs include industries such as aerospace, information and communication technology, robotics, and machinery.
Earlier in the week, China announced it was imposing tariffs on 128 products imported from the U.S. in response to Trump's decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the U.S. has a $500 billion trade deficit with China, although his assertion is not backed up by official data.
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis showed the U.S. trade deficit with China was approximately $336.7 billion in 2017, including good and services.
Excluding the U.S. surplus in services trade, the trade deficit in goods was $375.2 billion in 2017, still far narrower than the number cited by Trump.
Nonetheless, the president repeated the unsubstantiated figure in a subsequent tweet, saying, 'When you're already $500 Billion DOWN, you can't lose!'
(Photo: Gage Skidmore)
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX