President Donald Trump with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in 2019. (File Photo: AP)
US President Donald Trump said Friday that his proposed 100 per cent tariff on Chinese goods was not meant to be permanent, describing it as an extreme measure meant to pressure Beijing ahead of an upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“It’s not sustainable, but that’s what the number is,” Trump told Fox Business Network. “They forced me to do that.”
Trump also added that he would meet Xi in two weeks and expressed optimism about the talks, adding that he believed “things will be fine with China.”
On October 10, Trump announced that the United States would impose a 100 percent tariff on Chinese goods starting November 1.
“Given China’s unprecedented stance, the United States will impose a 100 percent tariff on China, in addition to any tariffs currently in place,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.
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He also said that the US would implement export controls on “any and all critical software.” Earlier the same day, Trump accused China of engaging in “trade hostility” and suggested that he might cancel his planned meeting with Xi.
Trump earlier this year, repeatedly hiked US tariffs on Chinese goods, amid spiralling tensions between the two countries, to a peak of 145 per cent. Beijing hit back, raising its own tariffs on US exports to 125 per cent.
But after talks between officials, US tariffs on Chinese products fell to 30 per cent, while Chinese tariffs on US goods dropped to 10 per cent.
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President Donald Trump with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in 2019. (File Photo: AP) 
