A looming trade war between the United States and China has taken a dramatic turn, with Beijing accusing Washington of seriously violating their latest trade deal. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced on Monday that the US has breached the agreement, prompting China to take defensive measures to protect its interests.
The trade deal, reached on May 12 after breakthrough negotiations in Geneva, aimed to suspend most new tariffs imposed since early April, pending further talks. However, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce claims that the US has failed to uphold its end of the bargain. The ministry listed several US actions that it considers to be in violation of the deal, including global warnings against the use of Huawei chips, the suspension of chip design software sales to Chinese companies, and the cancelation of visas for Chinese students.
US President Donald Trump had earlier claimed that China was in “grave economic danger” due to the tariffs, and that Beijing had “totally violated” the agreement. However, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce maintains that the White House has violated the consensus reached between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping during their most recent conversation.
The deal had paused 34% tariff hikes introduced on April 2 for 90 days, with Beijing taking reciprocal measures. Both sides had also committed to rolling back tariff increases introduced since April 8, while maintaining a baseline of 10% on mutual imports. China had additionally agreed to ease certain non-tariff measures, such as export controls on US goods.
The trade tensions between the two economic powers escalated on April 2, when Trump introduced broad new tariffs targeting over 90 countries, including China, citing concerns over the trade deficit. China retaliated, launching a tit-for-tat trade standoff in which tariffs increased to 145% and 125%, respectively, on mutual imports by Washington and Beijing.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has called on Washington to immediately correct its “erroneous actions,” cease discriminatory restrictions against China, and jointly uphold the consensus reached at the high-level talks in Geneva. The situation remains uncertain, with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer claiming that China has not removed specific non-tariff barriers as agreed under the deal, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stating that the talks were “a bit stalled” and might require direct involvement from Trump and Xi. As the trade war continues to unfold, the world watches with bated breath, wondering what the future holds for the global economy.
