Trump touts effectiveness of tariffs in string of tweets

After months of economic tensions, the U.S. and China are continuing trade talks, said  President Trump, who on Saturday touted the effectiveness of tariffs in a series of tweets.

“Tariffs are working far better than anyone ever anticipated,” he wrote on Twitter. “China market has dropped 27% in 4months [sic], and they are talking to us. Our market is stronger than ever, and will go up dramatically when these horrible Trade Deals are successfully renegotiated.”

The White House has imposed a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods containing “industrially significant technologies” in an escalating, tit-for-tat conflict between the world’s two largest economies. The Trump administration is weighing an additional round of tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods.

In response, China slapped tariffs worth some $34 billion on 545 American goods, and on Friday, it said it’s poised to impose another round on $60 billion worth of imports, including coffee, honey and industrial chemicals.

It was the latest in a series of tariffs, with the first being imposed by Trump back in early February. The White House initially announced tariffs – 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum – arguing they would protect U.S. companies and allow for the creation of new manufacturing plants – key Trump promises in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Already, the trade war has begun to take a toll: For instance, China has lost its status as the world’s second-largest stock market, falling behind Japan, The Financial Times reported on Friday.

Some American industries have also been adversely affected by the tariffs, including the agriculture sector. One of the biggest targets of the China tariffs has been farmers; Beijing is the biggest buyer of U.S. soybeans, importing more than $12.4 billion worth of the oil seed in 2017, according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Still, in response to Trump’s tariffs, China retaliated with a 25 percent tariff on soybeans.

To counter the effect of the tariff battle, the Trump administration is rolling out $12 billion in aid for the agricultural sector. The aid program will go into effect on Sept. 4, right after Labor Day. A portion of the money will be paid directly to producers of crops like soybeans, corn, wheat, dairy and pork, and the government will use the rest of the money to buy commodities and distribute them to food banks and healthy-school programs.

At the same time, Trump has credited tariffs with helping revitalize the steel industry.

“Tariffs have had a tremendous positive impact on our Steel Industry,” he tweeted. “Plants are opening all over the U.S., Steelworkers are working again, and big dollars are flowing into our Treasury. Other countries use Tariffs against, but when we use them, foolish people scream!”