President Donald Trump outlined his dilemma in the US-China trade war, acknowledging that his tariff policy is “not sustainable” while simultaneously insisting he was “forced” to implement it by Beijing.
This rhetorical balancing act comes just two weeks before a scheduled summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump is setting the stage for negotiations by framing his own policy as both flawed and necessary.
The president voiced optimism, stating, “I think we’re going to be fine with China,” but quickly tempered it. “China is always looking for an edge,” he said, adding, “I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
The talks are time-sensitive. A 90-day truce that has paused tariffs—which had threatened to reach 145%—is set to expire on November 10. This places a hard deadline on the leaders to find common ground.
Trump’s hardline justification for the tariffs remains. “We have a 100% tariff,” he said. “If we didn’t have tariffs, we would be exposed as being a nothing.” His ultimate goal, he repeated, is a “fair deal.”
Trump’s Tariff Dilemma: ‘Not Sustainable’ But ‘Forced’ to Act
