President Donald Trump ‘tough’ on China as US imposes tariff hikes: Leavitt

Washington: The White House has said that US President Donald Trump has been “very tough” on China when it came towards the imposition of tariffs on the country. The remarks by the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday came after Trump doubled the tariff on all Chinese imports to 20 per cent from 10 per cent.

Leavitt reiterated the stand of Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who said that the country will always remain prepared to defend itself, as a reponse to the statement by China where it said it is ready to fight “any” type of war, be it tariff or trade.

“He (Hegseth) said that America will always be prepared to defend itself, especially under the leadership of this President in the Oval Office. And that certainly remains true, again, when it comes to tariffs, “ the White House Press Secretary said.

“The President has been very tough on China, not just now with 20 per cent and more with the reciprocal tariffs that will hit on April 2, but look at what he did in his first term. There were billions of dollars’ worth of tariffs that he implemented on China, and it’s quite telling that the previous administration did not rescind those tariffs because they realised the value that they had in not only deterring China, but also raising revenue here in the United States,” she said. (IANS)

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