President Donald Trump said America’s trade deficit with China must first be resolved before he considers making a deal regarding his sweeping tariffs against the country.
“We have a trillion-dollar trade deficit with China — hundreds of billions of dollars a year we lose with China. And unless we solve that problem, I’m not going to make a deal,” the president told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday.
“Now, I’m willing to deal with China, but they have to solve their surplus. We have a tremendous deficit problem with China. They have a surplus of at least a trillion dollars a year. I think it’s like a trillion one, and I want that solved,” Trump said.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters while in flight on board Air Force One, en route to Miami, April 3, 2025.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
The president also discussed with reporters the TikTok deal being in limbo, saying that China did not approve the deal because of the tariffs on the country.
“The report is that we had a deal — pretty much for TikTok, not a deal, but pretty close and then China changed the deal because of tariffs. If I gave a little cut in tariffs, it approved that deal in 15 minutes, which shows you the power of tariffs,” Trump said.
