World ‘Trade’ War III: China Denies It Offered US a $200B Trade-Deficit Reduction Package – Big Scandal to Come?

9 m

498

China offered POTUS Donald Trump a package of US goods to reduce the trade deficit with China by $200 billion, CNN reports. In a few hours, Beijing denied all the statements.

Source: Getty

China says ‘NO’

China offered President a package of proposed purchases of US goods to slash US trade gap by $200 billion. Business Insider stated that the offer was made during the US-China trade talks in Washington.

It was really a good news for US aircraft maker Boeing that could benefit from the deal.

Unfortunately, Beijing denied a $200 billion trade offer as Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang stated, “This rumor is not true. This I can confirm to you. As I understand, the relevant consultations are ongoing and they are constructive.”

Lu didn’t provide the details on the talks, but they are set to continue Friday.

Background

Earlier, Donald Trump officially announced that he was imposing a 25% fee on steel imports and 10% fee on aluminum.

The new fees temporarily exempted Canada and Mexico, which together with the US are parties to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In addition to these two states, Trump said about the possibility of making an exception for Australia and other countries.

The US decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum is severely criticized by the EU and China. They promised to take countermeasures. China stated that their restrictions are the answer for the actions performed by Trump a month ago: $50 billion worth of Chinese goods.

Then, US promised to impose 1,300 Chinese exports worth $50 billion to punish China. A 25% tariff would be applied to all the products mentioned in the list. Tariffs would be related to aerospace, tech, and machinery, medicine and education, steel and aluminum.

Trump didn’t wait for too long and raised tariffs worth $100 billion on Chinese exports.