WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday blasted China, accusing it of violating the temporary agreement on trade and tariffs the two countries struck earlier this month. Hours earlier, Trump's Treasury chief said negotiations between the two nations on a longer-term deal are in a rut. 

What You Need To Know

  • President Donald Trump on Friday blasted China, accusing it of violating the temporary agreement on trade and tariffs the two countries struck earlier this month 
  • “The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US,” the president wrote on his social media platform. “So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!”
  • The world’s two largest economies agreed less than three weeks ago to scale back tariffs on one another by 115 percentage points, setting the U.S. rate on Chinese goods at 30% and the Chinese rate on U.S. goods at 10%, for 90 days 
  • Trump’s Truth Social post followed Bessent saying on Fox News on Thursday night that talks on a longer-term deal between the U.S. and China on trade and tariffs are “a bit stalled"
  • The development also comes amid a new level of uncertainty surrounding Trump’s trade agenda after a series of significant court rulings over the last two days

In a post on Truth Social on Friday morning, Trump touted what he called the “FAST DEAL” his administration made with China this month, saying it allowed Beijing to return to “business as usual” and reverse what he referred to as an economy in danger. He went on to assert, however, that China has not followed the terms of the deal and insinuated he could change his approach with the country.  

“The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US,” the president wrote on his social media platform. “So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!”

The president did not expand in his post on how China has violated the agreement, and the White House did not immediately respond to an inquiry seeking information on what he was referring to. 

Trump similarly did not offer details on how China violated the deal when asked about it during a press event in the Oval Office later in the afternoon. He instead reiterated that Beijing "violated a big part of the agreement we made" and said he expects to speak with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

"But I'm sure that I'll speak to President Xi and hopefully we'll work that out, but yeah, that's it: There's a violation of the agreement," Trump said.  

The world’s two largest economies agreed less than three weeks ago to scale back tariffs on one another by 115 percentage points, setting the U.S. rate on Chinese goods at 30% and the Chinese rate on U.S. goods at 10%, for 90 days after a weekend of high-stakes talks between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and their Chinese counterparts in Switzerland. 

The deal brought temporary relief from the trade war between the two countries that had been escalating for weeks and saw the U.S. tariff rate on Chinese imports reach as high as 145% and the Chinese rate on U.S. imports climb to 125%. Officials said talks would continue between the two countries on a longer-term deal beyond the 90-day agreement. 

Trump’s Truth Social post, however, followed Bessent saying on Fox News Thursday night that such talks are “a bit stalled.” 

The Treasury secretary went on to say that “the complexity” of the trade negotiations likely requires a direct conversation between Trump and Xi, expressing confidence that such a move would push things in the right direction for the U.S.

“I think that given the magnitude of the talks — given the complexity — that this is going to require both leaders to weigh in with each other,” Bessent said. “They have a very good relationship, and I am confident that the Chinese will come to the table when President Trump makes his preferences known.” 

The development also comes amid a new level of uncertainty surrounding Trump’s trade agenda after a series of significant court rulings over the last two days. 

A federal appeals court on Thursday decided Trump could continue to impose his sweeping tariffs for the time being, less than 24 hours after a federal trade court ruled that the emergency authority Trump used to announce most of his country-specific tariffs — including those he unveiled on what he called “Liberation Day,” as well as those imposed on China, Mexico and Canada in response to immigration and fentanyl — were not legal, thus blocking his ability to enforce them. 

And earlier on Thursday, another federal judge halted Trump’s ability to use the emergency authority to impose the fees, however the ruling applied to just two companies involved in a particular lawsuit.

In the face of the legal back-and-forth, the White House on Thursday said that Trump’s trade and tariff agenda would continue as intended regardless, insisting the president was within his right to use the authority he cited but also the pledging to find another law to enforce the levies if the administration is unsuccessful in court. 

Officials also said that countries were continuing to negotiating trade deals with the U.S., with Bessent noting that he is meeting with a Japanese delegation Friday. 

“We have not seen any of that in terms of our trading partners. They are coming to us in good faith and trying to complete the deals before the 90 day pause ends,” Bessent said, referring to the delay Trump placed on his “Liberation Day” tariffs. “So we've seen no change in their attitude in the past 48 hours."