Trump says US will no longer be taken advantage of on trade
DANANG, Vietnam (Reuters/AP) -– US President Donald Trump set out a strong message on trade at a meeting of AsiaPacific countries in Vietnam on Friday, saying the United States could no longer tolerate chronic trade abuses and would insist on fair and equal trade policies.
Trump said the United States was ready to make a bilateral deal with any country in the Indo-Pacific region, but only on the basis of “mutual respect and mutual benefit.”
Although he was addressing a meeting alongside the summit of AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders, he repeatedly referred to the Indo-Pacific region and mentioned the importance of India in his speech.
Referring to North Korea, he said the region must not be held hostage to a dictator’s “twisted fantasies.”
Hours after leaving Beijing, President Donald Trump on Friday delivered what appeared to be a sharp rebuke to China, declaring that he won’t allow the US to be “taken advantage of anymore’’ when it comes to trade. He pledged to always “put America first.’’
Speaking at a gathering of CEOs at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam, Trump said: “From this day forward we will compete on a fair and equal basis.’’
“We are not going to let the United States be taken advantage of anymore. I am always going to put America first,’’ he said.
It was a striking change of tone from the day before, when Trump set aside his previous blistering rhetoric in favor of friendly overtures to China as he sought to flatter his host into establishing a more balanced trade relationship, rather than lecturing.
In Beijing, Trump criticized the “very one-sided and unfair’’ relationship between the US and China. But unlike his approach during the presidential campaign, when he castigated China for what he contended were inappropriate trade practices, Trump said Thursday that he didn’t blame the Chinese for having taken advantage of the U.S. in the past.
Trump said China “must immediately address the unfair trade practices’’ that drive a “shockingly’’ large trade deficit, along with barriers to market access, forced technology transfers and intellectual property theft.
“But I don’t blame China,’’ he said. “After all, who can blame a country for being able to take advantage of another country for the benefit of its citizens?’’
To applause, Trump said, “I give China great credit.’’
Trump also said Friday the whole world was being lifted by America’s economic renewal, and that a “new optimism’’ has swept across the US since his election.
Trump said he’d had the pleasure of sharing the “good news from America’’ everywhere he’s been on his first official visit to Asia.
“The whole world is lifted by America’s renewal,’’ he said.