President Trump expresses regret over trade war with China, then claims he was 'misinterpreted'

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BIARRITZ, France — President Donald Trump signaled Sunday that he may be having regrets over his trade war with China, but the White House backtracked a few hours later and said he had been misunderstood.

At a breakfast meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Trump said “yeah” when a reporter asked if he was having second thoughts about how the trade conflict with China has escalated.

“I have second thoughts about everything,” he said.

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham later issued a statement seeking to clarify Trump’s comments and suggesting the only thing he regrets is not placing higher tariffs on Chinese goods.

“This morning in the (meeting) with the UK, the president was asked if he had ‘any second thought on escalating the trade war with China,'” Grisham said in a statement. “His answer has been greatly misinterpreted. President Trump responded in the affirmative — because he regrets not raising the tariffs higher.”

A transcript of Trump’s exchange with reporters shows that he was asked three times whether he had any regrets on the trade tensions with China. Each time, he indicated that he did.

Trump’s remarks, on the second day of the annual G-7 gathering of leaders of the world’s most industrialized countries, came just days after he ramped up the trade conflict by raising tariffs on $550 billion in Chinese goods.

Trump said Friday he would raise from 25% to 30% U.S. tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese products and would increase from 10% to 15% new tariffs on a remaining $300 billion in goods — some of which are set to take effect next month. The announcement came shortly after China said it would levy its own tariffs on U.S. imports, prompting a market sell-off.

Though Trump’s remarks on Sunday hinted at regrets, he said the escalating trade war with China is necessary because of what he considers Beijing’s unfair trade practices.

“What (China) has done is outrageous,” he said.

Trump said he has “no plans right now” to follow through on his threat to use a national security law to declare an emergency and force U.S. companies to leave China. But he insisted he has the authority to do so.

“If I want, I could declare a national emergency,” he said. But, “actually, we’re getting along very well with China right now. … So we’ll see what happens.”

Mon dieu!: Trump arrives at G7 summit in France amid tensions, threat of tariffs on French wines

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French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and Brigitte Macron welcome U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, left, at the Biarritz lighthouse, southwestern France, ahead of a working dinner Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019. Shadowed by the threat of global recession, a U.S. trade war with China and the possibility of one against Europe, the posturing by leaders of the G-7 rich democracies began well before they stood together for a summit photo. Andrew Harnik, APU.S President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, second right, accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, left, and Brigitte Macron, right, greet each other at the G-7 summit before a dinner at the Lighthouse of Biarritz, France, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019. Andrew Harnik, APA woman sits in the middle of a street in front of a mesh movable barrier installed by French gendarmes in Bayonne, south-west France on Aug. 24, 2019, ahead of expected protests on the sidelines of the annual G7 Summit attended by the leaders of the world’s seven richest democracies, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. More than 9,000 anti-G7 protesters joined a mass march across the French-Spanish border as world leaders arrived for a summit in Biarritz just hours after activists clashed with police. Authorities remain on high alert, with Biarritz on lockdown and police deployed en masse in the neighboring town of Bayonne as well to keep protesters at bay. Gaizka Iroz, AFP/Getty ImagesJapan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie Abe walk after disembarking from an airplane as they arrive at the Biarritz Pays Basque Airport in Biarritz, south-west France on Aug. 24, 2019, on the first day of the annual G7 Summit attended by the leaders of the world’s seven richest democracies, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. Bertrand Guay, AFP/Getty Images

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