The rhetoric from President Trump cooled a bit over the weekend, but key members of his administration are still offering public statements that present an aggressive posture in reaction to China's recent export control announcements.

On Friday, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced modifications to certain aspects of the action it took as part of its Section 301 investigation on China's practices in the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors.

In response to China's recent announcements of expanded export controls, President Trump indicated that the U.S. will respond with 100% tariffs, as well as export controls on software and perhaps on Boeing parts.

China made a big announcement recently about giving up developing country status in WTO negotiations going forward, but the U.S. reacted with skepticism at a recent meeting.

The EU is moving forward with new trade restrictions on steel imports, which are likely to aggravate trade tensions with China and other countries.

As part of an interview at the Economic Club of New York, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer touched on a number of key issues in China-U.S. trade relations, including rare earth export controls, a focus on trade in non-sensitive products, cultural aspects of negotiations, and trans-shipment.