Trump asks China to immediately lift tariffs on US farm products

The president originally warned that he would escalate the tariffs he had imposed on 200 billion US dollars in Chinese imports, from 10 to 25 percent, if the two sides failed to reach a deal by 2 March.

The US Trade Representative’s office has earlier said that it would delay the scheduled hike in tariffs, saying it was “no longer appropriate” to raise the rates, so the tariff would remain “at 10 percent until further notice.”

Trump’s new remarks on Twitter came Friday a few days after he had extended the deadline, citing "substantial progress" in trade negotiations.

“And I did not increase their second traunch of Tariffs to 25% on March 1st. This is very important for our great farmers - and me!“ he said.

Trump’s trade war with China has had a heavy impact on farmers, who are a key constituency for the president’s Republican Party.

Last year, Beijing imposed tariffs on imports of soybeans, grain sorghum, pork and other items, dramatically reducing shipments of American farm products to China.

“I think farmers in this country understand that China has been a great, and will continue to be a great market for US soybeans, but if we’re going to take this thing to the next level, we’ve got to figure out a way to open China to all of these other commodities and that’s exactly what we’re trying to do,” Gregg Doud, chief agricultural negotiator at the US Trade Representative’s office, said during USDA’s annual outlook forum in February.