Tuesday Briefing: Trump’s Tariff Threat to China

Trump threatened China with even bigger tariffs

President Trump yesterday told China to rescind its retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. or face additional tariffs of 50 percent starting tomorrow. The threat came as countries around the world were trying to appeal to the president to have steep tariffs rolled back.

The added tariffs would bring the total taxes that Trump has imposed on Chinese imports since he came into office to 104 percent.

Asia: Bangladesh and Vietnam asked Trump to delay imposing the tariffs, while the Philippines offered to reduce tariffs on U.S. goods. South Korea and Japan said they wanted to hold talks with the Trump administration.

Europe: E.U. officials are taking a two-part approach, offering to slash tariffs on American-made cars — which Trump later told reporters wasn’t good enough — and industrial products even as they prepare to retaliate with wide-ranging import taxes. Representatives from the bloc are expected to vote tomorrow on a list of products they plan to target with tariffs.

Trump announced talks with Iran

Trump said yesterday that the U.S. would hold talks with Iran on Saturday on reining in its nuclear program. He warned that if the meeting fails to yield a breakthrough, “Iran is going to be in great danger.”

The face-to-face talks in an undisclosed location would be the first such meeting between the U.S. and Iran since the 2015 nuclear accord was concluded. Trump did not specify who would be conducting the negotiations, but said they would be “high level.”

Speaking in the Oval Office after a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, Trump said a new nuclear deal with Iran would be “stronger” than the previous agreement.

Context: Trump pulled out of the previous nuclear deal in 2018, even though Iran was shipping 97 percent of its nuclear material out of the country. Iran has since rebuilt its capability and today produces near bomb-grade uranium.

Does a Black Sea truce benefit Ukraine?

My colleague Constant Méheut last week joined the Ukrainian Navy on a patrol mission in the Black Sea, where Russia’s forces have been repelled far enough that commercial shipping has returned to near prewar levels.

Constant wanted to know how naval officers and business owners in Odesa viewed a Black Sea truce — which Kyiv and Moscow agreed to negotiate last month — if Ukraine already has the upper hand on those waters. Many rejected the idea; some expressed their doubts.

“For me, nothing changes,” one captain said. “It’s fighting as usual.”

Russia: Some 800,000 Russians fled their country after the invasion of Ukraine. A peace deal may not be enough to bring them back home.

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