Fri May 30 19:40:00 UTC 2025: **Trade Truce Threatened: Trump Accuses China of Violating Tariff Agreement**
Washington, D.C. – Tensions flared once again between the United States and China as former President Donald Trump accused Beijing of violating a recently brokered tariff truce. The accusation, leveled via a Truth Social post, was followed by claims from U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer that China has been slow to remove non-tariff barriers as agreed upon in Geneva earlier this month.
“China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US,” Trump stated on his social media platform, without providing specific details.
Greer elaborated, stating that while China rolled back tariffs similar to the U.S., the rollback of other trade restrictions, such as blacklisting U.S. companies and restricting exports of rare earth magnets, has been sluggish. “The United States did exactly what it was supposed to do and the Chinese are slow-rolling their compliance which is completely unacceptable and has to be addressed,” Greer told CNBC.
In response, China urged the U.S. to “correct its erroneous actions” and cease what it sees as discriminatory restrictions, specifically mentioning concerns about U.S. export controls in the semiconductor sector. A spokesman from the Chinese embassy in Washington stated that China has repeatedly raised these concerns with the U.S.
These accusations come after both nations agreed to temporarily lower tariffs in Geneva, with the U.S. reducing tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, and China dropping retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods from 125% to 10%. The deal also included the cancellation of some tariffs and the suspension of others for 90 days.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent acknowledged that talks on a further deal had stalled, but remained optimistic about future negotiations. “I believe that we will be having more talks with [China] in the next few weeks and I believe we may at some point have a call between the president and [Chinese President Xi Jinping],” Bessent said.
The renewed friction comes at a sensitive time, with the Trump administration also facing legal challenges to its broader tariff regime. This week, a federal appeals court temporarily reinstated Trump’s tariff plans after a lower court ruling that he had exceeded his authority. The administration has also moved to revoke the visas of numerous Chinese students studying in the U.S.
Analysts fear that this latest dispute could jeopardize the fragile progress made in de-escalating trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
First Piper 