Republican presidential candidate Trump has stated that if the CCP “enters Taiwan,” he will impose high tariffs on Chinese goods.
According to an article published by The Wall Street Journal on Friday, October 18th, Trump said in an interview, “I’ll say, if you go into Taiwan, I’m sorry you’re doing that, but I’m going to put a very large tariff on you, 150% to 200%.”
When asked if he would use military force to counter a CCP blockade of Taiwan, Trump said that if he were the U.S. President, it wouldn’t even get to that point because Chinese leader Xi Jinping respects him.
“My relationship with him is very firm,” Trump said. “I wouldn’t (use military force) because he respects me, he knows I’m very crazy (he knows I’m f— crazy).”
The CCP claims Taiwan as its own territory and has never ruled out the use of force to control Taiwan. The government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) strongly opposes the CCP’s sovereignty claims, arguing that only the people of Taiwan can decide their own future.
In the U.S. election on November 5th, Trump will face off against the Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President, Harris. As part of his campaign pitch to voters, Trump has proposed comprehensive tariffs of 10% to 20% on almost all imported goods and over 60% tariffs on Chinese goods. Trump stated that these measures would promote the development of the U.S. manufacturing industry.
During the interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump also addressed the issue of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Trump reiterated his stance that if he were still in office, Putin would not have launched the invasion.
When discussing his past interactions with Putin, Trump said, “I told Putin, ‘Vladimir, we have a great relationship… but if you go after Ukraine, I will hit you so hard in ways you wouldn’t believe, I will hit you right in the heart of Moscow.'”