--- title: Trump Accuses China of 'Violating' Trade Agreement With U.S. description: “The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, has totally violated its agreement with us. So much for being Mr. Nice Guy." canonical: https://time.com/7290011/trump-says-china-violating-trade-agreement-tariffs-row/ author: Rebecca Schneid article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-05-30T13:29:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2025-06-02T18:24:47.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Accuses China of 'Violating' Trade Agreement With U.S. og:description: “The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, has totally violated its agreement with us," said Trump. og:url: https://time.com/7290011/trump-says-china-violating-trade-agreement-tariffs-row/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc70dbd9e25578cf3/6998c5621f67097c92f563ef/AP25066812046678.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3799 og:image:height: 2137 og:image:alt: Trump Tariffs China og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Accuses China of 'Violating' Trade Agreement With U.S. twitter:description: “The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, has totally violated its agreement with us," said Trump. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc70dbd9e25578cf3/6998c5621f67097c92f563ef/AP25066812046678.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Accuses China of 'Violating' Its Trade Agreement With the U.S., Laments Being 'Mr. Nice Guy' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=a023af41-1359-4b05-a474-695c1004ef2a&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Trump Explains Reasoning Behind Doubling Steel, Aluminum Tariffs [Watch (HLS stream): Trump Explains Reasoning Behind Doubling Steel, Aluminum Tariffs](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/eOh1NzSf.m3u8) (1:42)  _Published 2025-06-02. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he plans to double the tariffs on steel and aluminum imports—increasing the charge from 25% to 50%._  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Updated: Jun 2, 2025 6:24 PM UTCPublished: May 30, 2025 1:29 PM UTC  President Donald Trump shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 29, 2019. President Donald Trump shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 29, 2019. Susan Walsh—AP  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Updated: Jun 2, 2025 6:24 PM UTCPublished: May 30, 2025 1:29 PM UTC President Donald Trump has accused China of “totally violating” its[ trade agreement with the U.S.](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/05/joint-statement-on-u-s-china-economic-and-trade-meeting-in-geneva/) After the U.S. and China continued to raise levies against one another, and amid rising fears of a full-scale trade war, on May 12 both nations agreed to significantly lower their tariffs for a 90-day period. The U.S. vowed to lower import taxes on goods coming from China from an astronomical 145% down to 30%. While China agreed to lower its tariffs from 125% to 10%. It was stated that the actions would be put into effect by May 14, but Trump’s latest social media post has called that into question. “Two weeks ago China was in grave economic danger! The very high tariffs I set made it virtually impossible for China to trade into the United States marketplace,” said Trump via [Truth Social](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114596705340367716) on Friday morning, claiming that there was “civil unrest” as a result of the high levies. “I made a fast deal with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation, and I didn’t want to see that happen. Because of this deal, everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual. Everybody was happy! That is the good news,” Trump continued. “The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!” Following Trump’s claims of a violated agreement, [stock futures slipped](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/29/stock-market-today-live-updates-.html). **Read More**: [_Trump Needs to Get Real on Trade_](https://time.com/7289950/trump-needs-real-us-china-trade-strategy/) U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer echoed Trump's sentiment [during an interview with CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/05/30/watch-cnbcs-full-interview-with-u-s-trade-representative-jamieson-greer.html) on Friday morning, saying that Trump and his advisers are “very concerned” and have been since the marathon trade negotiations in Geneva in early May. “No one can deny that 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,” said Greer. Meanwhile, on Thursday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hinted that negotiations and relations were strained,[ telling FOX News](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jlg-tn2QiD8) that talks with China were “a bit stalled.” “I believe we will be having more talks with them in the next few weeks, and I believe we may—at some point—have a call between the President and Party Chair Xi \[Jinping\],” Bessent said.  Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs, which he announced during his "Liberation Day" at the White House on April 2, 2025, further heightened tensions between the U.S. and China. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images A federal appeals court on Thursday evening agreed to temporarily preserve many of Trump’s tariffs on China and other countries—allowing the Administration some reprieve after a three-judge panel on Wednesday ruled to block the tariffs. **Read More**:[_What’s Next for Trump’s Tariff Agenda After Back-and-Forth Court Rulings_](https://time.com/7289909/trump-tariffs-court-rulings/) But is not the end of the road for Trump’s tariffs in the courts, as the future of their legality is still in limbo amid ongoing appeals. Something else that could potentially cast a shadow over the U.S. and China’s trade negotiations is Trump’s recent targeting of international students studying in the U.S., which impacts Chinese nationals. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio [said in a press statement](https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/05/new-visa-policies-put-america-first-not-china/) that the State Department and Homeland Security will work to “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.” The move [stands to further erode trust](https://time.com/7289945/us-china-trump-rubio-international-student-visa-restrictions-trade-negotiations/) between the U.S. and China. ### More from TIME ## Transcript So soon after initially taking office, I impose powerful 25% tariffs on all foreign steel and ended each and every one of the Biden exceptions and exclusions. And today, I have a major announcement. And are you ready to hear this? This is on behalf of Scott, Secretary of Treasury, Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce and all of the great geniuses and people we have working. And they are smart. But I don't think you'd be a good steelworker, Scott. I'm sorry. We're going to have to put a little more muscle content into that guy. But he's great. He's great at what he does. We are going to be imposing a 25% increase. We're going to bring it from 25% to 50%. The tariffs on steel into the United States of America, which will even further secure the steel industry in the United States. Nobody's going to get around that. So we're bringing it up from 25%. We're doubling it to 50%. And that's a loophole. And by the way, I have to tell you, I believe that this group of people that just made this investments right now are very happy, because that means that nobody's going to be able to steal your industry. It's at 25%. They can sort of get over that fence at 50%. They can no longer get over the fence. So congratulations to everybody and to you for making a great deal. 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