President Donald Trump lashed out at China on Friday morning on Truth Social, saying China had “violated” its trade deal with the US.
“The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!” Trump wrote.
Trump did not specify how China allegedly broke the agreement. But his comments added to a growing list of complaints from US officials. During an interview with CNBC, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer claimed the Chinese were “slow rolling their compliance.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier told Fox News that trade talks between the US and China are “a bit stalled,” saying a call between Trump and China’s Xi Jinping may be needed.
The escalation comes as the US-China detente — reached earlier this month, when each country eased sky-high tariffs on the other — looks more fragile amid both trade-related and other tensions.
Meanwhile, Trump’s most sweeping tariffs have entered a period of legal uncertainty. A federal appeals court allowed the tariffs to temporarily stay in effect, a day after the US Court of International Trade blocked their implementation, deeming the method used to enact them “unlawful.”
That means Trump’s tariff agenda remains intact, if in flux, in the latest twist in the unfolding legal saga.
Late Wednesday, the trade court voted to block many of Trump’s tariffs, including the flat-rate “reciprocal” tariffs aimed at US trade partners, as well as key China-focused duties.
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which oversees the International Trade Court, granted the Trump administration’s request for a temporary administrative stay. This gives the court time to review legal arguments and filings. The administration must submit its briefings by June 9, after which the court will determine the next steps.
The White House had vowed Thursday to take its appeal to the Supreme Court if necessary.
Administration officials also hinted that court rulings would not be the final say for a president who has based much of his economic agenda on enacting the tariffs. Yahoo Finance’s Ben Werschkul has an overview of the other maneuvers Trump could pursue.
Amid the legal chaos, US trade negotiations have apparently continued in earnest this week with India and the EU.
Here are the latest updates as the policy reverberates around the world.
LIVE1028 updates
Trump says China ‘TOTALLY VIOLATED’ agreement
The temporary trade deal that led to the US and China pausing steep tariffs is showing signs of fraying.
In a post on Truth Social on Friday, President Trump made it clear who he thinks is to blame.
“I made a FAST DEAL with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation, and I didn’t want to see that happen,” Trump said. “Because of this deal, everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual. Everybody was happy! That is the good news!!!
“The bad news,” he continued, “is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US.”
“So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!”
Stocks drop after report on new China tech curbs
US markets took another leg lower on Friday after Bloomberg reported the Trump administration plans to expand tech restrictions on China by targeting subsidiaries of already-sanctioned firms.
The proposed rule would require US government licenses for transactions involving companies majority-owned by firms on the so-called “Entity List,” aiming to close loopholes used to bypass existing curbs.
The measure, which could affect major Chinese chipmakers such as Huawei and Yangtze Memory Technologies, is expected to further heighten tensions between Washington and Beijing amid ongoing disputes over semiconductors and critical mineral exports.
The report comes on the heels of earlier comments from President Trump, who lashed out at China in a Truth Social post, accusing the country of having “violated” its trade deal with the US. While he did not provide specifics, the comments echoed earlier rhetoric from his administration suggesting that negotiations with Beijing had “stalled.”
In afternoon trade, the Nasdaq (^IXIC) dropped approximately 1.6% while the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 1%, and the Dow (^DJI) slipped 0.6%.
US goods trade deficit narrows sharply in April as imports plunge
Chinese tech groups prepare for AI future without Nvidia
Some of China’s biggest tech companies have started to switch development of their artificial intelligence to homegrown chips as opposed to using semiconductors from America, due to the US export controls — which has led to a dwindling stockpile of Nvidia (NVDA) processors.
A federal appeals court has temporarily reinstated President Trump’s global tariffs by pausing a lower court ruling that had blocked them. The decision, which came sooner than expected, means the tariffs will remain in effect for now.
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which oversees the International Trade Court, granted the Trump administration’s request for a temporary administrative stay. This gives the court time to review legal arguments and filings. The administration must submit its briefings by June 9, after which the court will determine the next steps.
As Yahoo Finance legal reporter Alexis Keenan noted, Trump has broad authority to impose tariffs through various legal channels, including Sections 232 and 301. The administration had chosen to justify the tariffs under an emergency act, citing concerns such as immigration and drug trafficking — an argument the lower court rejected.
Legal experts say it’s unclear how the appeals court will ultimately rule, as another court might interpret the emergency authority in a different way.
Trump tariff setback could hasten US debt ceiling deadline: Barclays
Analysts are raising concerns about how a new court ruling against President Trump’s tariffs could force the U.S. government to raise the debt ceiling.
Trump takes aim at Chinese students and tech, threatening to upset truce with Xi
Tensions between the US and China are rising again after the Trump administration announced it would revoke Chinese student visas, restrict chip design software, and try to block Huawei from selling advanced AI chips globally.
Per Bloomberg, China’s Foreign Ministry called the crackdown on student visas “discriminatory” on Thursday but did not move to immediately retaliate, signaling it was trying to avoid the kind of rapid escalation that brought tariffs to triple-digit levels.
Still, the divide shows that the two countries are far from resolving their issues — chiefly tech competition — and coming to a trade agreement.
Trump has yet to speak with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in his second term, despite hints a few weeks ago after top officials met in Geneva that a call was imminent.
The Manhattan-based court ruled that many of Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs, including the 10% “reciprocal” tariffs, were unlawful in a decision that the administration is expected to appeal.
Taiwan is pushing for tariffs lower than the 10% base rate,
HP plunges after cutting profit outlook on tariffs, economy
Shares in HP Inc. (HPQ) fell by 8% on Thursday in premarket trading after the company’s profit outlook missed estimates and it cut the annual earnings forecast, citing a weaker economy and continuing costs from US tariffs on goods from China.
Court’s tariff ruling spells short-term pop, long-term angst for markets
Markets may be celebrating the latest turn in the tariffs saga, but the US trade court’s block isn’t definitive — and that means there’s still cause for concern, some analysts say.
