President Donald Trump said Friday that he intends to put the United States on a path of uncompromising nationalism on trade, telling a 21-nation gathering of CEOs in Vietnam that he is ‘not going to let the United States be taken advantage of anymore.’
‘I am always going to put America first,’ Trump said, ‘the same way that I expect all of you in this room to put your countries first.’
One of those nations represented at the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit is China, where Trump spent Thursday making friendly overtures to President Xi Jinping in a bid for a rebalancing of a $347 billion trade deficit.
He flew directly from Beijing to the sweltering Vietnamese coastal city of Da Nang, changing his tune as Air Force One crossed time zones.
President Donald Trump said Friday in Vietnam that he is ‘not going to let the United States be taken advantage of anymore’ on trade, in a message targeted at Beijing without calling out China by name
‘We must ensure that all play by the rules, which they do not right now,’ Trump said of no nation in particular, although he left no doubt which country he was talking about
Trump has said at least three times in 24 hours that he doesn’t blame Chinese President Xi Jinping for bending global trade to his country’s advantage – but holds previous U.S. presidents responsible for letting it happen
Trump cautiously avoided pointing fingers at Xi by name, but condemned China-like ‘chronic trade abuses’ that ignore World Trade Organization rules and harm U.S. businesses and workers.
‘We must ensure that all play by the rules, which they do not right now,’ he said of no nation in particular.
‘Those who do will be our closest economic partners. Those who do not can be certain that the United States will no longer turn a blind eye to violations, cheating, or economic aggression. Those days are over.’
Businessmen and women in the room nodded knowingly, recognizing a Mandarin pivot.
Going back to his days on the campaign trail, Trump has routinely accused the Chinese of dumping steel into U.S. markets, subsidizing goods to undercut international competition, intentionally devaluing their currency, stealing American companies’ intellectual property and blocking their access to Chinese markets – all to gain unfair advantage.
‘What country do you come from, sir?’ Trump pointed to a man in the audience who chuckled when he criticized nations for erecting trade barriers in the face of American openness
Trump’s stop in Da Nang, Vietnam is the fourth of six cities on his five-country Asia tour
The president spoke at the APEC summit, an annual gathering of Asia-Pacific business CEOs
The president said Friday that he ‘spoke openly and directly with President Xi about China’s unfair trade practices’ this week, saying they resulted in ‘enormous trade deficits’ that are ‘not acceptable.’
‘We will no longer tolerate the audacious theft of intellectual property,’ he added. ‘We will confront the destructive practices of forcing businesses to surrender their technology to the state and forcing them into joint ventures in exchange for market access.’
‘We will address the massive subsidizing of industries through colossal state-owned enterprises that put private competitors out of business all the time.’
But Trump repeated a forgiving allowance he made Thursday in Beijing, saying Friday that ‘I do not blame China or any other country – of which there are many – for taking advantage of the United States on trade.’
‘If their representatives are able to get away with it, they are just doing their jobs.’
‘I wish previous administrations in my country saw what was happening and did something about it,’ he said, returning to campaign mode. ‘They did not, but I will.’
Trump tweeted this stemwinder – using Twitter’s new 280 character format – as he left China on Friday morning, but warned hours later in Vietnam that he will be enforcing World Trade Organization standards moving forward
As Trump left Beijing for Da Nang on Friday morning, he tweeted that rather than blaming China, ‘I blame the incompetence of past Admins for allowing China to take advantage of the U.S. on trade leading up to a point where the U.S. is losing $100’s of billions.’
‘How can you blame China for taking advantage of people that had no clue? I would’ve done same!’
The blunt Trump on Friday also continued his nearly week-long verbal assault on North Korea, blasting the totalitarian state for developing nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles to carry them.
‘Earlier this week, I addressed the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea and urged every responsible nation to stand united in declaring that every single step the North Korean regime takes toward more weapons is a step it takes into greater and greater danger,’ he said Friday.
‘The future of this region and its beautiful people must not be held hostage to a dictator’s twisted fantasies of violent conquest and nuclear blackmail.’
Trump’s scripted 32-minute speech was not without its hiccups.
China’s President Xi Jinping made his own speech at the APEC gathering, appearing to send a message to Trump: ‘Openness brings progress while self-seclusion leaves one behind’
As he complained that the U.S. has lowered trade barriers to other countries without seeing reciprocal treatment for its own goods and services, a member of the audience let out a chuckle.
‘Funny,’ Trump ad-libbed, indicating the interrupter.
‘They must have been one of the beneficiaries. What country do you come from, sir?’
The man didn’t reply.
Xi spoke hours after Trump delivered his address, saying that economic globalization ‘has contributed significantly to global growth. Indeed, it has become an irreversible historical trend.’
Where Trump has focused on bilateral trade deals – agreements between two countries at a time – Xi emphasized a ‘more open, more inclusive, more balanced, more equitable’ global trade environment that would be ‘more beneficial to all.’
‘Openness brings progress while self-seclusion leaves one behind,’ he said.