
China's Vice Premier Liu He and President Trump. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
President Trump urged China Saturday to "act now" on trade or face a "far worse" deal if he were elected for a second term.
Why it matters: The Trump administration increased tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods from 10% to 25% overnight on Friday. U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement Trump "also ordered us to begin the process of raising tariffs on essentially all remaining imports from China," valued to be about $300 billion. China's Commerce Ministry said Wednesday it would retaliate with "necessary countermeasures" if the U.S. increased tariffs.
The big picture: The administration has accused China of "reneging" on its trade commitments, per Axios' Jonathan Swan. China's Vice Premier Liu He denied Beijing had "backtracked" on agreements, saying the 2 countries just had "disagreements over how to write some of the text," the Financial Times reported Saturday, citing Chinese media.
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