U.S Trade Representative Jamieson Greer called out his Chinese counterparts Friday saying they are "slow rolling their compliance," on trade and warned the U.S. will respond accordingly.
Speaking to CNBC's "Squawk Box," Greer said the U.S. will take action: "We moved, as the president just said, very quickly. No one can deny that the United States did exactly what it was supposed to do, and the Chinese are slow rolling their compliance, which is completely unacceptable and has to be addressed."
On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on goods imported from almost every foreign nation were illegal. The court determined that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not grant the president unbounded authority to impose tariffs. The Trump administration is seeking an emergency appeal from the Supreme Court.
Trump called out the Chinese on his Truth Social platform posting early Friday, "Two weeks ago China was in grave economic danger! The very high Tariffs I set made it virtually impossible for China to TRADE into the United States marketplace which is, by far, number one in the World. We went, in effect, COLD TURKEY with China, and it was devastating for them,"
CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin asked Greer if it was beneficial to the market for Trump to be so open with his frustration, and if it was "complicating things."
"I would say there you know, lot of different ways to deal with folks," Greer responded. "You make every effort to be diplomatic and professional and to do things behind closed doors, you know. But at some point, you know, the impact on the U.S. economy, or the trade relationship, becomes such that it's hard to withhold that anymore."
Greer clarified what the Chinese had done as part of their noncompliance which included not only imposing duties on U.S. goods but placing certain U.S. companies on blacklists and restricting the flow of rare-earth minerals.
Trump has yet to clarify what the U.S. response will be but lamented the Chinese violation. "Because of this deal, everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual. Everybody was happy! That is the good news!!! The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!," Trump concluded.
On Thursday during another interview, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that trade talks with China were "a bit stalled" but that they should commence again "in the next few weeks." Bessent acknowledged the complexity of any deal is such that it will require both Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to talk to each other.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.