WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is reportedly seeking to add a condition in its trade negotiations with nearly 70 countries that would isolate China.
According to a report first published by the Wall Street Journal, Washington is asking other countries to reduce their trade and economic ties with Beijing in exchange for a reduction in tariffs.
A White House official familiar with the administration’s trade talks told The Epoch Times that he could not confirm but would not “wave off” the report. He did not elaborate on the administration’s strategy.
U.S. officials are reportedly asking other nations to ban transshipments, a practice that involves Chinese goods being minimally altered or simply relabeled in other countries and then sent to the United States.
Another strategy is to prevent Chinese companies from moving their production to other countries to avoid U.S. tariffs. In addition, U.S. officials are urging other countries not to allow cheap Chinese goods to be poured into their markets, a practice that many countries have already started to address.
On April 2, President Donald Trump announced a 10 percent baseline tariff on nearly every country and added higher, reciprocal tariffs on a number of key trading partners, including Japan, Vietnam, the European Union, and China.
Later, he announced a 90-day pause on the reciprocal tariffs for countries that have signaled their willingness to negotiate while leaving in place the 10 percent baseline tariff. He also said the pause would not apply to tariffs on imports from China, blaming Beijing for retaliating.
Currently, U.S. tariffs on many Chinese imports stand at 145 percent. According to the White House, some Chinese products, including electric vehicles and syringes, face tariffs as high as 245 percent because of the combined effect of reciprocal levies, tariffs imposed in response to fentanyl precursors from China, and Section 301 tariffs imposed during both the Trump and Biden administrations, which range from about 7.5 percent to 100 percent.
In recent years, there has been a rise in transshipment by Chinese companies to avoid U.S. tariffs. Trump has spoken about his plan to close these loopholes and has publicly called on Mexico to raise its tariffs on Chinese goods to stop China from using it as a backdoor into the U.S. market.
Trump has already signaled that he is willing to lower or pause tariffs if China agrees to negotiations. His offer was met with a public refusal from Beijing.
“The ball is in China’s court. China needs to make a deal with us,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press briefing on April 15.
“We don’t have to make a deal with them. There’s no difference between China and any other country except they are much larger,” she said, adding that the Chinese economy is dependent on the American consumer.
In a recent interview with the Spanish-language program “Fox Noticias,” Trump said he might ask other nations to choose between the United States and China in response to a question about Panama deciding not to renew its Belt and Road Initiative contract with the Chinese communist regime.
In February, Panama announced that it would withdraw from the global infrastructure and investment project, dealing a blow to Beijing.
In recent days, Beijing has mounted a charm offensive to strengthen ties with U.S. trading partners in an attempt to isolate the United States.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping sought to promote China as a stable trading partner during his visit to Vietnam on April 14–15. While in Hanoi, he called for stronger ties with Vietnam and urged the country to resist “unilateral bullying.”
On April 11, Xi also hosted Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in Beijing and told him that there would be “no winners” in any trade war. During the meeting, he urged China and the European Union to join forces to protect globalization.
Trump said he would join his Treasury and Commerce secretaries on trade negotiations with Japanese officials on April 16.
“Japan is coming in today to negotiate Tariffs, the cost of military support, and ‘TRADE FAIRNESS,’” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Hopefully something can be worked out which is good (GREAT!) for Japan and the USA!”
