US President Trump said he would “rather not” impose tariffs on China, after repeated pledges on the campaign trail to hit America’s biggest economic rival with hefty import levies. Asked if he could make a deal with China President Xi Jinping on Taiwan and trade, Trump replied: “I can do that because we have something that they want, we have a pot of gold. We have one very big power over China, and that’s tariffs, and they don’t want them, and I’d rather not have to use it. But it’s a tremendous power over China.” After taking office Monday, Trump said 10% tariffs on all Chinese imports could kick in on Feb 1 – and on the campaign trail touted a levy as high as 60%.
