President Donald Trump signaled a willingness to drastically cut the current 145% US rates in China before trade between the two countries.
Trump wrote in a post -truth of the truth on Friday morning: “80% tariff in China looks right! Even Scott B.”, seeming to refer to the Scott Bessent Treasury Secretary.
The post occurs a day before Bessent and US commercial deputy Jamieson Greer meet with his Chinese colleagues in Geneva for commercial discussions.
Trump indicated Thursday that he could be open to decrease the current 145% rate in China. “I mean, let’s see. At the moment, you can’t get louder,” he said during comments from the Oval Hall.
A representative of the Chinese Embassy in the US did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A 80% rate of 80% would still be far beyond the duties that the US had in force in China before Trump took office. He first imposed a 20% charge to the third largest source of imports in America in response to his supposed inaction on reducing fentanyl flows and then signed an executive order several weeks later, imposing 125% tasks.
In general, Trump’s heavy approach to tariff negotiations remained unshakable: on Thursday, he announced that an agreement was being prepared with the UK that contained few details, but would leave 10% of the US in all countries, especially intact. However, although the contract signaled the ways to expand US exports of beef, ethanol and other agricultural products, it did not provide guarantees even though the United Kingdom would really increase imports of these products.
Trump tried to recover country tasks by a country he announced during his shock “Liberation Day” more than a month ago.
But considerable rates remain, including 25% tasks on all steel, aluminum and car imports. Although the discussion of trade agreements remains abundant, the real progress in them has been relatively scarce – leaving the confidence of the business strangled.
Several companies have already changed their advanced orientation or reversed it entirely as a result of uncertainty.
Nor is it clear that China’s tariffs are having a desired effect by Trump. In April, according to CNBC calculations, China exports emerged amid a remittance acceleration to Southeast Asian-indicator countries that China may simply be increasing goods transport to third party countries that then export to the US, an expert told CNBC.