Trump says US no longer ‘whipping post’, China warns against tariff ‘weapons’

US President Donald Trump on Saturday defended his decision to impose steep tariffs on Chinese goods, saying that America is done being a “dumb and helpless whipping post” in global trade. This remark came as China warned Washington against using tariffs as economic “weapons,” further escalating tensions in the high-stakes trade standoff between the world’s two largest economies.

“China has been hit much harder than the USA, not even close. They, and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly. We have been the dumb and helpless ‘whipping post,’ but not any longer,” Trump said, adding that his administration was reversing years of economic decline.

“We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before. Already, more than 5 trillion dollars of invesrment, and rising fast. This is an economic revolution, and we will win. Hang tough, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic. We will, make America great again,” he added.

On Saturday, China’s foreign ministry said it would “continue to take resolute measures to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests.” It also urged the US to “stop using tariffs as a weapon to suppress China’s economy and trade, and stop undermining the legitimate development rights of the Chinese people,” news agency Reuters reported.

Trump earlier this week imposed an additional 34 per cent tariff on Chinese goods, raising total US duties on imports from China this year to 54 per cent. The move triggered immediate retaliation from Beijing, which announced on Friday that it would introduce an additional 34 per cent tariff on all American goods. The Chinese tariffs will take effect on April 10.

Responding to Beijing’s decision, Trump on Wednesday said, “China played it wrong, they panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do.”