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What recent trade developments are impacting U.S.-China relations?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. The European Union says it will match President Trump and pause its pending tariffs against U.S. products for 90 days. Trump suspended some of his new tariffs yesterday, but he increased U.S. tariffs on China to 125 percent. China says it is open to negotiation, but NPR's John Ruich reports China says the U.S. first needs to change its attitude.
China's Commerce Ministry spokeswoman He Yongquan says the door for talks is open.
Shiya He Weixian. 不是同中方打交道的
But pressure and threats are not the right way to deal with China, she says. Dialogue must be conducted on an equal footing and on the basis of mutual respect. Beijing and Washington have been locked in a spiraling tariff war with each side blaming the other and no end in sight. Trump has said China wants to make a deal but hasn't given him a call yet to get the ball rolling.
Despite openness to talks, China's foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian says Beijing is prepared to continue to take resolute countermeasures to safeguard its rights and interests.
John Rewich, NPR News, Beijing. The suspension of tariffs is bringing some relief to small business owners. NPR's Windsor Johnston spoke to an entrepreneur in western North Carolina struggling to rebuild after Hurricane Helene.
Jessie Dean is the owner of the Asheville Tea Company. She says the on-again, off-again threat of tariffs is making it that much harder to rebuild her business from the ground up.
Coming off the back of losing our entire facility during Hurricane Helene makes this particularly challenging because we are trying to replace lost equipment that was washed down the river. We already had debt because of COVID.
The Trump administration says the use of tariffs will lead to a stronger trade relationship between the U.S. and international powers. However, the duties could force small business owners to either absorb the price hikes, pass them on to consumers, or risk going under.
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