Trump claims China ‘violated’ agreement

(MENAFN) Former U.S. President Donald Trump has accused China of violating a recently negotiated tariff agreement, reigniting trade tensions between the two economic superpowers. The deal, reached on May 12 during talks in Geneva, temporarily halted most new tariffs introduced since early April, pending further discussions.

In a post on Truth Social Friday, Trump claimed, “China… HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US,” without offering specific details. He asserted that China was in serious economic trouble due to the tariffs before the U.S. offered what he described as a "FAST DEAL." Trump added that he intervened out of concern for China and sarcastically remarked, “So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!”

Several media outlets reported that the Trump administration recently instructed U.S. firms to stop shipping advanced technologies to China, including chip design tools and specialty chemicals—a move analysts say could escalate the conflict.

The May 12 deal had temporarily suspended the 34% tariff increases imposed on April 2 for 90 days and included mutual commitments to scale back other tariff hikes introduced since April 8. Both countries agreed to maintain a base tariff of 10% on each other’s imports.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer noted that while China did remove the agreed-upon tariffs, it has yet to fully eliminate certain non-tariff barriers. “They removed the tariff like we did, but some of the countermeasures they’ve slowed on,” he told CNBC.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent echoed these concerns in an interview with Fox News, describing the talks as “a bit stalled.” He suggested that further progress might require direct engagement between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Talks are expected to resume in the coming weeks.

In response, Beijing urged the U.S. to "correct its erroneous actions" and end what it called discriminatory trade practices. China also emphasized the importance of upholding the Geneva agreement, which included easing non-tariff restrictions and launching a bilateral consultation mechanism starting May 14.

The trade conflict originally flared up on April 2 when Trump imposed broad new tariffs on over 90 countries, including China, citing persistent trade imbalances. Beijing retaliated with its own levies, leading to a tit-for-tat exchange that pushed U.S. tariffs as high as 145% and China’s to 125%, unsettling global markets.

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