Once again, data from Trump’s own administration confirms that the China trade deal he staked his reelection on has been a failure. After losing the trade war he started, Trump settled for a bad deal, and was so eager to secure it that he let China off the hook on the coronavirus, which has cost over 155,000 American lives and wreaked havoc on our economy. Now, China isn’t even living up to its purchase agreements. Trump promised to get tough on China, but he got played instead.

New data from Trump’s Commerce Department confirmed that through the first half of the year China was still $120 billion short of its trade deal commitments for 2020 and even behind pre-trade war levels.

January 2020-June 2020: The U.S. exported $49.5 billion in goods to China.

Bloomberg: “By the end of the first half of this year, China had bought about 23% of the total purchase target of more than $170 billion for goods in 2020, according to Bloomberg calculations based on Chinese Customs Administration data.”

January 2017-June 2017: The U.S. exported $58.9 billion in goods to China.

Despite data to the contrary, the Trump administration continues to take China at its word that they’re living up to the trade deal.

LIGHTHIZER: “Every contact I’ve had with the Chinese, they have reaffirmed their commitment to living up to the agreement.”

MNUCHIN: “I have every expectation that they will. They have continued to tell us they will, as recently as last week when Secretary Pompeo met with one of the senior people who flew in from China and they had a summit. So I have that expectation that they will live up to their obligation.”

TRUMP: “They’ve been living up to the deal. They’re buying a lot of — a lot of things. They never had any deal. They just came in and took advantage of the United States. Took out hundreds of billions of dollars a year. So they don’t do that anymore.”

TRUMP: “They’re buying. You know, I made a trade deal, and it’s a wonderful deal… The deal with China was a great deal.”

Trump has even repeatedly claimed China would buy far more than the $200 billion target.

TRUMP: “But we have an additional $200 [billion]. They are going to be what — what is, to me, very important. Number one, they’re going to be spending much more than $200 billion over the next two years, including up to $50 billion just on agriculture alone.” [Trump Remarks At Signing Of The U.S.-China Phase One Trade Agreement, Washington DC, 1/15/20]

TRUMP: “It’s far greater than $200 billion, and it’ll grow every year.” [Trump Remarks In Luncheon With Vice Premier Liu He Of The People’s Republic Of China, Washington DC, 1/15/20]

TRUMP: “But– the deal is a phenomenal deal. We will take in $250 billion– they’re going to be buying $250 billion, and it could go a lot higher than that.” [Squawk Box, CNBC, 1/22/20]

TRUMP: “So we’ll be taking in an excess of $200 billion; could be closer to $300 billion when it finishes.” [Trump Remarks At The World Economic Forum, Davos CH, 1/21/20]

TRUMP: “I did a trade deal with China, where China is supposed to be spending $250 billion in our country.”

TRUMP: “So I just made a deal with China where they’re going to put in $250 billion of product.  They’re going to be — they’re going to be buying $250- — 50; from 40 to 50 — billion in farm.”