Trump accuses China of violating tariff de-escalation deal

President Donald Trump waves as he departs the White House, Friday, May 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

U.S. President Donald Trump signalled renewed trade tensions with China on Friday, arguing that Beijing had “totally violated” a deal to de-escalate tariffs, at a time when the two sides appeared deadlocked in negotiations.

Trump’s comments came after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that trade talks with China were “a bit stalled,” in an interview with broadcaster Fox News.

The world’s two biggest economies had agreed earlier this month to temporarily lower staggeringly high tariffs they had imposed on each other, in a pause to last 90 days, after talks between top officials in Geneva.

But on Friday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US,” without providing further details.

Asked about the post on CNBC, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said: “The Chinese are slow-rolling their compliance, which is completely unacceptable.”

He took aim at Beijing for continuing to “slow down and choke off things like critical minerals,” adding that the U.S. trade deficit with China “continues to be enormous.”

Greer added that Washington was not seeing major shifts in Beijing’s behavior.

Trump’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told reporters Friday that “China did not fulfill the obligations that it made and committed to with the United States,” without providing details.

“And so that opens up all manner of action for the United States to ensure future compliance,” he added.

On Thursday, Bessent suggested that Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping could get involved, saying there could be a call between the leaders. Greer agreed with that idea.

U.S. stock markets were downcast around midday on jitters that Trump could return to a more confrontational stance on China.

Forthcoming deals?

Washington is also in “intensive talks” with other key trading partners, Greer told CNBC, saying he has meetings next week with counterparts from Malaysia, Vietnam and the European Union.

The meetings come as he heads to Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) talks in Europe.

“The negotiations are on track, and we do hope to have some deals in the next couple of weeks,” Greer said.

But Trump’s tariff plans are facing legal challenges.

A U.S. federal trade court ruled this week that the president overstepped his authority in tapping emergency economic powers to justify sweeping tariffs.

It blocked the most wide-ranging levies put in place since Trump returned to office, although this ruling has been stayed for now as an appeals process is ongoing.

The decision left intact, however, tariffs that Trump imposed on sector-specific imports such as steel and autos.

Greer said it was important to get through the legal process so partners have a “better understanding of the landing zone.”

Since Trump returned to the presidency in January, he has imposed sweeping tariffs on most U.S. trading partners, with especially high rates on imports from China.

New tit-for-tat levies on both sides reached three digits before the de-escalation this month, where Washington agreed to temporarily reduce additional tariffs on Chinese imports from 145 per cent to 30 per cent.

China, meanwhile, lowered its added duties from 125 per cent to 10 per cent.

The U.S. level is higher as it also includes a 20 per cent levy that Trump recently imposed on Chinese goods over the country’s alleged role in the illicit drug trade -- an accusation that Beijing has pushed back against.

The high U.S.-China tariffs, while they were in place, forced much trade between both countries to grind to a halt, as businesses paused shipments to try to wait for both governments to reach a deal to lower the levies.