Trump: US Will Set Terms on Tariffs If China Does Not Agree to Deal

Trump echoed his stance that China and other countries are going to want to make a deal with the United States.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he participates in the swearing-in ceremony for Paul Atkins, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in the Oval Office of the White House on Washington on April 22, 2025. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump told reporters on April 22 that if communist China does not agree to a trade deal, the United States would be the one setting the terms on tariffs.

“Ultimately, they have to make a deal because otherwise, they’re not going to be able to deal in the United States,” the president said at the swearing-in ceremony for new Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins. “So we want them involved but they have to, and other countries have to, make a deal. And if they don’t make a deal, we'll set the deal.”