Trump warns he is 'tariff man' if China trade deal falls through

China expressed confidence of agreeing a trade deal with the US within 90 days of negotiations after President Donald Trump took to Twitter warn that he was “Tariff Man” at heart.

China's commerce ministry said on Wednesday that it would work to implement specific issues already agreed upon as quickly as possible.

This came shortly after tweets from the US president, warning of more sanctions on Chinese products would come if both sides cannot resolve their differences.

After there was some doubt over the timing of the 90-day trade truce, Trump said on Twitter: "The negotiations with China have already started. Unless extended, they will end 90 days from the date of our wonderful and very warm dinner with President Xi in Argentina.

"Bob Lighthizer will be working closely with Steve Mnuchin, Larry Kudlow, Wilbur Ross and Peter Navarro on seeing whether or not a REAL deal with China is actually possible. If it is, we will get it done.

He added: "President Xi and I want this deal to happen, and it probably will. But if not remember...I am a Tariff Man. When people or countries come in to raid the great wealth of our Nation, I want them to pay for the privilege of doing so. It will always be the best way to max out our economic power."

A few hours later there was more clarification: "We are either going to have a REAL DEAL with China, or no deal at all - at which point we will be charging major Tariffs against Chinese product being shipped into the United States. Ultimately, I believe, we will be making a deal - either now or into the future....China does not want Tariffs!"

Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping reached a temporary truce in their trade war at a meeting over the weekend at the G20 in Argentina. Both sides agreed on a 90-day negotiation period in which a deal must be secured or fresh sanctions could come as early as March.

Although the news was met with optimism, the tweets from the US President contributed to the latest bout of pessimism on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones industrial average losing close to 800 points or just over 3%, while the S&P 500 lost 3.2% and the Nasdaq dropped 3.7%.

On Wednesday, the Asian and European stock markets are also feeling Wall Street’s falls and follow in its footsteps. The FTSE 100 is currently down 1.14%.

As well as uncertainty about the US-China trade truce a flattening/inversion of the US Treasury bond yield curve made investors worried about the strength of the US economy, as yield curve inversion has been a harbinger of recession going all the way back to the second world war.

"Yes, inversion is a red flag for recession, but there is not a direct causal link," said Neil Wilson at Markets.com. "And it takes time usually, so we may yet see the December rally we had anticipated off the back of the progress on Sino-US trade relations."