WSJ: US wants to pressure dozens of countries to force them to limit cooperation with China

The administration of the US President Donald Trump wants to use negotiations on tariffs to force trading partners to limit cooperation with China.

This is reported by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Washington wants more than 70 countries to commit to isolating Beijingʼs economy in exchange for lowering US tariff barriers. The idea is that the countries would block Chinese goods from transiting their territory, prohibit Chinese companies from setting up factories to circumvent US tariffs, and keep Chinese industrial products out of their economies.

This is necessary to weaken the Asian country and force it to come to the negotiating table with fewer leverage. The requirements for different partners vary depending on how involved they are in Chinaʼs economy.

The plan has already begun discussions with some states, sources said. It was proposed by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a meeting with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on April 6. While discussions about the scope and severity of the measures are ongoing, most officials support Bessentʼs idea.

Chinese companies could be delisted from US exchanges, and Chinese stocks could be delisted. The US Treasury Secretary said that talks on a trade deal between Washington and Beijing are still possible — but only with the participation of Trump and Xi Jinping.

• On April 2, the US President Donald Trump reported that he would impose tariffs on goods from other countries. The new tariffs will apply to more than 180 countries and territories (not including Russia, North Korea, Cuba and Belarus, which are already under sanctions). A 10% tariff was imposed on Ukraine.
• Already on April 9, Trump postponed tariffs for everyone except China, which received the highest tariffs — 145%, while most countries have a base rate of 10%.
• Chinaʼs Ministry of Finance reported on April 11 that it would raise tariffs on all American goods from 84% to 125%.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.