United States: China says the US is breaking the truce agreed upon with China just before the New Year, a truce that aimed to avoid causing further instability in the global economy.
China and the US agreed on 12 May that for 90 days, they would not increase their skyrocketing tariffs in a “reciprocal” trade war that had recently begun.
Because tariffs were as high as 125% on both sides, officials believed trade could end between the world’s richest economies.
Donald Trump praised the pause as giving both sides a chance to start over with their relationship, the Guardian reported.
China accuses US of ‘seriously violating’ trade truce
— Shehzad Younis شہزاد یونس (@shehzadyounis) June 2, 2025
Beijing says it will safeguard its interests after Donald Trump claimed it had ‘totally violated’ agreement https://t.co/UmPiMoRD3u
According to the US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, “What China is doing is they are holding back products that are essential for the industrial supply chains of India, of Europe. And that is not what a reliable partner does.”
After these events, trade talks have become stalled because the US is concerned that China did not meet its commitment to allow the export of critical minerals to the US.
President Biden said China clearly violated the terms of the agreement this past week.
During that stint of tough trade measures in April, China decreased exports of key rare earth minerals and magnets important for American manufacturers.
The rules were supposed to be eased after 12 May, but the process has not been consistent.
Reports say US companies, mostly car manufacturers, no longer have an adequate supply of magnets.
As per the Guardian reports China hot back, accusing the US of violating and undermining the agreements reached in Geneva in May, where China’s commerce ministry said on Monday, “The US has successively introduced a number of discriminatory restrictive measures against China, including issuing export control guidelines for AI chips, stopping the sale of chip design software to China, and announcing the revocation of Chinese student visas.”
