Copyright kyodonews
GYEONGJU, South Korea - U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is likely to reduce his administration's 20 percent tariff on Chinese goods imposed over fentanyl and expects a "very good outcome" during his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Speaking to reporters in the morning aboard Air Force One after leaving Tokyo and en route to Busan, South Korea, Trump said his visits to Malaysia and Japan were "really wonderful" and described Japan's new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, as a "wonderful woman" who is "very sharp, very smart (and) very energetic." Trump said he now wants to focus on China, with Beijing finally announcing in the afternoon that Xi and Trump will hold talks in the South Korean city on Thursday. Asked about North Korea, which test-fired cruise missiles into its western waters ahead of Trump heading to the final stop of his Asia tour, the president said he hopes to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "at some point in the not-too-distant future." Trump said his schedule is "very tight," although he indicated Monday that he is open to prolonging his nearly weeklong trip to the region to reengage with Kim directly. Shortly before arriving in South Korea, Trump took multiple questions about his three-nation Asia tour and the forthcoming talks with Xi. He praised Japanese companies that are planning to invest heavily in the United States, suggesting that his satisfaction with his visits to Malaysia and Japan has more to do with money than other issues. "Hundreds of billions of dollars are coming into our country, primarily because of the election result, but the real reason is tariffs," he said. On China, Trump said his "big meeting" with Xi will cover a range of issues, from fentanyl and rare earth minerals to U.S. farm products. But Trump said he does not know if the two presidents will speak about Taiwan. "I'm not sure he may want to ask about it," Trump said, referring to Xi. Trump has rarely discussed Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory, from a security perspective. Many foreign policy experts have noted that Xi will seek concessions from Trump over the self-governing island. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has repeatedly accused China of taking insufficient steps to stem the flow of fentanyl into the United States. For this reason and as part of his aggressive tariff strategy, Trump imposed the new 20 percent tariff on goods from China. On Wednesday, while aboard the presidential plane, he said, "I expect to be lowering that because I believe that they're going to help us with the fentanyl situation. They're going to be doing what they can do." Under the second Trump administration, total additional U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports stand at 30 percent, comprising a 20 percent fentanyl-related duty and a 10 percent so-called baseline reciprocal levy. In May, the United States and China agreed to a truce in their trade war, under which each side lowered tariffs on the other by 115 percentage points for 90 days. The pause, which was extended in August for another 90 days, is set to expire on Nov. 10. Earlier this month, in response to China's announcement of new export controls on rare earth minerals vital to high-tech industries, Trump threatened to impose an additional 100 percent tariff on imports from the Asian economic powerhouse starting Nov. 1. However, following a two-day meeting with senior Chinese officials in Malaysia over the weekend, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Trump's tariff threat has been effectively dropped. In his speech on Wednesday at a CEO conference in Gyeongju, where this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit will kick off Friday, Trump said he will likely strike a "good deal" for both the United States and China, as well as the rest of the world, with Xi. "That's really a great result. You know, that's better than fighting and going through all sorts of problems," he said.
