BEIJING: China warned on Thursday (Jul 3) against trade deals that “hurt third parties” after US President Donald Trump said he had struck an agreement with Vietnam.
“China has always advocated that all parties resolve economic and trade differences through equal dialogue and consultation,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.
“At the same time, relevant negotiations and agreements should not target or harm the interests of third parties,” she said.
The deal announced on Wednesday is the first full pact Trump has sealed with an Asian nation, and analysts say it may give a glimpse of the template Washington will use with other countries still hoping for accords.
It comes less than a week before Trump’s self-imposed Jul 9 deadline for steeper tariffs on US trade partners to take effect if agreements are not reached.
“PROVOCATION”
Trump said the US will place a 20 per cent tariff on many Vietnamese exports, down from the initial 46 per cent levy announced in April.
However, a 40 per cent tariff will also hit goods passing through the country to circumvent steeper trade barriers – a practice called “transshipping”.
Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro has called Vietnam a “colony of China”, saying that one-third of Vietnamese products are relabelled Chinese goods.
Raw materials from the world’s number two economy are also the lifeblood of Vietnam’s manufacturing industries
“From a global perspective, perhaps the most interesting point is that this deal again seems in large part to be about China,” said Capital Economics.
It said the terms on transshipment “will be seen as a provocation in Beijing, particularly if similar conditions are included in any other deals agreed over (the) coming days”.
