By Ireland Owens, Daily Caller News Foundation | February 03, 2025
The Chinese government is reportedly preparing to begin trade talks with the U.S. after President Donald Trump slapped China with a 10% tariff, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Beijing is reportedly gearing up to discuss trade relations in an attempt to ward off further tariffs from the U.S., according to the WSJ. The WSJ report comes after Trump announced on Saturday that he is implementing 10% tariffs against China as well as 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada in an attempt to crack down on illegal immigration and the trafficking of illicit drugs such as fentanyl stemming from the countries.
China’s initial trade proposal will be aimed at restoring a trade agreement that the country signed during Trump’s first term in 2020 but did not implement during former President Joe Biden’s term, anonymous sources told the WSJ. Beijing is now preparing to discuss with the Trump-Vance administration areas where China can purchase more from the U.S., the outlet reported.
When announcing the tariffs on Saturday, the White House wrote that there was an “extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl” which “constitutes a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.” The White House stated in the announcement that tariffs are a “powerful, proven source of leverage for protecting the national interest.”
Beijing on Sunday denounced Trump’s tariffs, stating that fentanyl was “America’s problem,” Reuters reported. Notably, deaths in the U.S. involving synthetic opioids other than methadone — primarily illicitly manufactured fentanyl — rose to 73,838 in 2022. The global fentanyl supply chain often starts with chemical companies based in China, and often passes through Mexico and then into the U.S.
Concerns about Beijing threatening U.S. national security have been mounting amid China’s growing global influence. Various reports have shown that China has stolen intellectual property from America.
Notably, there has been a massive influx of Chinese migrants crossing the U.S. border in recent years, with thousands of Chinese nationals crossing the southern border illegally in 2024.
Before his recent White House return, Trump vowed to impose various tariffs against foreign countries, including China, Mexico and Canada.
During his first presidency, Trump implemented various trade restrictions against Beijing, setting off a contentious trade war between the U.S. and China in early 2018. Tensions over trade between the U.S. and China have been amping up in recent months with Beijing warning in December that there would be “no winners” in a new trade war between the two countries.
Ahead of the 2025 presidential inauguration, Trump said on Jan. 17 that he had spoken with China’s President Xi Jinping over the phone about fentanyl, trade and various other topics. Trump stated that the phone call with China’s leader was “a very good one.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Ireland Owens is a contributor at the Daily Caller News Foundation
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