🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥China and the United States are negotiating🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥—or are they? President Donald Trump says they are, but China says they aren’t in talks.

On April 24, the Chinese government denied claims that the Trump administration was in active negotiations to resolve the ongoing trade war that’s shaking up the world economy. Ongoing disconnect comes as tariffs may hit cargo truck imports.

• He Yadong, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, told global news media, “Any claims about the progress of China-U.S. trade negotiations are groundless as trying to catch the wind and have no factual basis.” A response to this comes after President Trump has asserted negotiations on both sides.

• Guo Jiakun, a spox at Foreign Ministry, added: “For all I know, China and the U.S. are not having any consultation or negotiation on tariffs, still less reaching a deal.”

• The solution that both officials of the Chinese government confirmed to engage the two countries’ governments would be to drop the childish tariff tantrums, like the current rate of 145 percent that Trump has reportedly levied on the PRC.

• Trump has softened his rhetoric on China in recent days. Trump said on April 22, per the Associated Press, that it would be “very nice” for both to work together, including how he wants to “live together very happily and ideally work together.”

• This comes at a time when Trump’s Commerce Department just announced an investigation into foreign cargo truck makers, like Volvo and Hyundai, and how truck manufacturers in the United States use foreign-made parts, like parts that are made in China. A Federal Register notice names “predatory trade practices.”

• U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has also announced plans to levy tariffs on Chinese shipbuilding in addition to port fee hikes and other tariff levies.

• The port fee plan was adopted after significant backlash from industry groups, like the American Apparel & Footwear Association, expressing major concerns.

• “We fully support strengthening the U.S. maritime industry, but [further] penalising shippers for not using American-flagged or built vessels, when they cost up to five times more and remain in limited supply, is counterproductive,” said an AAFA rep.

• Tariffs are hurting the economy, though. Even Republicans are pissed off at the White House. Trump/GOP donor Ken Griffin, a billionaire megadonor, told a crowd at the Semafor World Economy Summit held in Washington, D.C., that Trump’s protectionism is “eroding” the so-called global brand of the United States.

Bottom line: The inconsistency persists. This is leading to many in the Commerce and Transportation Department and USTR to get confused. “The United States was more than just a nation. It’s a brand,” said Griffin. “No brand came close. We put that brand at risk.”

MORE: “Tariffs Take Their Toll on Trucking” - Sourcing Journal

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💩💩💩💩💩💩Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is overseeing a “shit show.”

“It’s a shit show, honestly. I feel for HR because this is a mess they didn’t create,” — a DOT employee, via POLITICO. “DOT invited more people to resign. Now it’s scrambling to keep some of them.”

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