Trump says China tariffs will drop ‘substantially' but 'won’t be zero'

Donald Trump said on Apr. 22 that high tariffs on goods from China will “come down substantially, but it won’t be zero”.

His remarks were made during a White House news conference in response to comments by treasury secretary Scott Bessent, who said the high tariffs were unsustainable and that he expects a “de-escalation” in the trade war between U.S. and China.

Details of Bessent’s remarks were confirmed by two people familiar with the remarks, but granted anonymity to talk about them to the media.

“I do say China is going to be a slog in terms of the negotiations,” Bessent said, according to a transcript obtained by the Associated Press.

“Neither side thinks the status quo is sustainable.”

Markets go up in response

The S&P 500 stock index rose 2.5 per cent following reports of Bessent’s remarks.

Bitcoin rose as well.

Trump acknowledged the increase in the stock market in his comments to reporters.

This was after the ceremonial swearing-in of Paul Atkins as the Securities and Exchange Commission chair on Tuesday.

But Trump avoided confirming if he also thought the situation with China was unsustainable.

“We’re doing fine with China,” he said.

He added that he would be “very nice” to China and not be on the offensive with China president Xi Jinping, despite having imposed high tariffs on Chinese goods.

“We’re going to live together very happily and ideally work together,” Trump said.

He said the final tariff rate with China would come down “substantially” from the current 145 per cent.

“It won’t be that high, not going to be that high,” Trump said.

China’s government has not responded to this latest news regarding imposing levies, a tit-for-tat that the two largest economies in the world have been engaged in over the past three weeks.

Background

Trump placed import taxes of 145 per cent on China.

China responded with 125 per cent tariffs on U.S. goods.

The U.S. also slapped tariffs on imports from other countries.

The trade feud caused the stock market to stumble and interest rates to increase on U.S. debt, as investors got worried about slower economic growth and higher inflationary pressures.

Trump’s subsequent 90-day pause on his wide-ranging global tariffs did not include China.

The pause was to allow for negotiations with countries to take place.

Top photo via The White House