Trump warns: ‘No one will be excluded from US tariffs, especially China’

President raises hard line against Beijing after Xinhua call: ‘The days of trade abuse are over’

‘No one is exempt’ from US tariffs. This was reiterated by President Donald Trump in a post on TruthSocial, pointing the finger at ‘unfair trade balances and non-monetary barriers’ imposed by other countries, with an explicit reference to China, accused of being ‘the one that treats us worst of all’.

The statement comes just hours after the Chinese government’s official call – reported by the Xinhua news agency – for the US to completely cancel reciprocal tariffs and return to ‘a dialogue based on respect’.

Trump denied recent rumours about exempting products such as iPhones, chips and computers from tariffs, stating: ‘No exemption has been announced. Those products are part of the 20 per cent tariff basket on fentanyl’. According to the president, the news about this was ‘distorted by Fake News’.

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik also clarified that the measure announced on Thursday is only temporary, with new ‘specific’ duties coming in the coming months, especially for products related to the semiconductor chain. ‘We can no longer depend on China for essential goods like drugs or chips,’ Lutnik told ABC.

Trump reiterated his willingness to bring manufacturing back to America: ‘We will no longer be hostage to hostile nations. America’s golden age has begun. With the new tax and regulatory cuts – some of which have already been passed by Congress – we will create more jobs, better paid and made here, in our country.’

Finally, he concluded with a direct jab at Beijing: ‘We will treat others exactly as they have treated us. Those days of abuse are over’.

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(Photo: © AndKronos)