President Donald Trump had some wind put in his sails regarding the US 'trade wars' with other countries, as Mexico, finally, responded to repeated warnings from Washington and agreed on measures to stem the flow of Central American migrants into the US.
President Donald Trump, in return, called off plans to impose a 5% tax on Mexican exports. On his part, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin urged China to follow suit and return to stalled negotiations.
His statements came as there were no fresh signs Beijing is ready to compromise in the dispute over trade and technology amid mounting tensions between both countries.
"From our perspective of where we are now, it is a result of them backtracking on significant commitments," Mnuchin said. "I don't think it's a breakdown in trust or good or bad faith. ... If they want to come back and complete the deal on the terms we were negotiating, that would be great."
Trump and Xi Jinping are due to meet in Osaka for the G-20 summit on June 28-29.
The Trump administration imposed tariffs on imports of Chinese goods nearly for a year now, accusing Beijing of using predatory means to lend Chinese companies an edge in advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics and electric vehicles.
The United States now is imposing 25% taxes on $250 billion in Chinese goods. Beijing has counter-punched by targeting $110 billion worth of American products, focusing on farm goods such as soybeans in a deliberate effort to inflict pain on Trump supporters in the US heartland.
According to AP, America's huge trade deficit with China — a record $379 billion last year — is one factor driving Trump's frustrations with Beijing.
US announced plans to further expand retaliatory tariff hikes of 25% on another $300 billion of Chinese products, and Mnuchin indicated it was prepared to take that step if negotiations with Beijing fail.
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