US Press Secy Leavitt says President Trump ‘tough’ on China as US imposes tariff hikes

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.

Earlier, the New York Post reported that America’s Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, declared that the US is “prepared” to go to war with China, hours after alarming threats from Beijing in response to President Trump’s stiff new tariffs.

“If we want to deter war with the Chinese or others, we have to be strong,” he said, as quoted by the New York Post.

On the US tariffs, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian had said in a statement.

“If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end.”

As per the New York Post, China swiftly retaliated against the fresh tariffs, announcing its own 10 per cent to 15 per cent hikes to import levies covering a range of American agricultural and food products.

Speaking about other issues concerning China, Leavitt mentioned about the Panama Canal and said, “President was very vocal several weeks ago about the need to ensure that China is not controlling the Panama Canal. This is a very important place for the United States of America.”

Leavitt further said, “President will continue to ensure that the Chinese government, the CCP cannot be infiltrated in the Western Hemisphere and certainly not in the Panama Canal which is a very important place for our country.”

–IANS