Trump says 'ball is in China's court' to find resolution to tariffs war

US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has said he believes it is up to China, not the United States, to come to the negotiating table on trade.

Since the start of the year, Trump has imposed steep duties on imports from China, alongside a 10% “baseline” tariff on many US trading partners.

His administration recently widened exemptions from these tariffs, excluding certain tech products like smartphones and laptops from the global 10% tariff and latest 125% levy on China 

“The ball is in China’s court. China needs to make a deal with us. We don’t have to make a deal with them,” said a statement from Trump read out by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at a briefing.

“There’s no difference between China and any other country except they are much larger,” it said.

The comments came after Trump accused China of going back on a major deal with US aviation giant Boeing following a Bloomberg news report that Beijing ordered airlines not to take further deliveries of the company’s jets.

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The report also said that Beijing requested Chinese carriers to pause purchases of aircraft-related equipment and parts from US firms.

“They just reneged on the big Boeing deal, saying that they will ‘not take possession’ of fully committed to aircraft,” said Trump in a Truth Social post, referring to China.

The US president said today that China bought only “a portion of what they agreed to buy,” charging that Beijing had “zero respect” for his predecessor Joe Biden’s administration.

Trump also vowed to protect US farmers on today, noting on social media that they were often “put on the Front Line with our adversaries, such as China,” when there were trade tussles.

Many Chinese imports still face the total 145% additional tariff or at least an earlier 20% levy that Trump rolled out over China’s alleged role in the fentanyl supply chain.

In response, China has introduced counter-tariffs targeting US agricultural goods and it later retaliated with a 125% levy of its own on imported US products.

China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to AFP queries on the aircraft deliveries and Boeing has declined to comment on the Bloomberg report. Boeing shares closed 2.4% down today.

© AFP 2025