In a strongly worded online message, former President Donald Trump accused China of walking away from a trade agreement the two countries had recently agreed upon. The short-lived deal was aimed at calming tensions and pausing further tariff increases, but it appears that the fragile arrangement may have already collapsed.
The deal, negotiated by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, included a 90-day pause on new tariffs and was reached after high-level meetings with Chinese officials in Geneva. Bessent, who played a central role in arranging the truce, acknowledged in a recent interview that talks had stalled, and hinted that only direct intervention from the leaders themselves could revive the process.
Trump, writing on Truth Social, shared his view that China was in a desperate economic situation just weeks ago. He credited the harsh tariffs imposed by his administration for bringing China’s trading power to a halt, causing factory closures and internal unrest. He said that he had personally decided to make a quick deal to help China avoid deeper trouble—not out of obligation, but because he didn’t want to see the country collapse.
He celebrated the brief success of the truce, claiming it brought stability to both sides, but quickly pivoted to say China had now breached the agreement entirely. With frustration clear in his tone, he wrote that trying to act generously had backfired, and accused China of breaking their promise.
The two countries have been engaged in a tense trade dispute for years, with both sides imposing steep tariffs on each other’s exports. Trump’s initial tariffs reportedly reached 145% on certain Chinese imports. China responded with its own tariffs, some as high as 125%.
At this point, it’s uncertain whether the U.S. will now reimpose or increase tariffs in response to what Trump claims is a clear violation. The broader implications for global trade could be significant if this disagreement continues to escalate.
