Marco Rubio: China ‘Out-Negotiating’ Trump Administration on Trade

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) taunted President Trump for being “out-negotiated” by China as the U.S. works to resolve a host of trade issues, ranging from deficit reduction to tariffs.

Responding to a Wall Street Journal report detailing how the Trump administration shelved the idea of slapping China with tariffs totaling $150 billion, the Florida lawmaker tweeted, “Sadly #China is out-negotiating the administration & winning the trade talks right now. They have avoided tariffs & got a #ZTE deal without giving up anything meaningful in return by using N.Korea talks & agriculture issues as leverage. This is #NotWinning.”

Sadly #China is out-negotiating the administration & winning the trade talks right now. They have avoided tariffs & got a #ZTE deal without giving up anything meaningful in return by using N.Korea talks & agriculture issues as leverage. This is #NotWinning https://t.co/5kGO3qRGfY

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) May 22, 2018

“Rubio’s tweet also followed reports that Washington and Beijing are nearing a deal to lift a U.S. ban on American companies selling components to Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE,” The Hill reports. “The U.S. imposed the ban after it was revealed that ZTE had violated at 2017 agreement by shipping American goods to Iran and North Korea. The ban crippled the telecom company, prompting it to announce that it would cease major operations.”

China’s Finance Ministry announced on Tuesday it will cut auto tariffs from 25% to “around 13.8%.”

The reduced tariffs will kick in July 1st.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday that the U.S. will not lift tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum.

“As it relates to China, the steel and aluminum tariffs will remain in force. Those were not part of our discussions,” Mnuchin said.

The United States and China announced over the week that a “consensus” was reached to “substantially reduce” the $370 billion trade imbalance between the two countries.

“There was a consensus on taking effective measures to substantially reduce the United States trade deficit in goods with China,” read the joint statement.

“To meet the growing consumption needs of the Chinese people and the need for high-quality economic development, China will significantly increase purchases of United States goods and services.”