{"id":1283,"date":"2025-05-10T01:40:37","date_gmt":"2025-05-10T01:40:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insuracarelife.com\/blog\/trump-suggests-openness-to-slashing-china-tariffs-ahead-of-trade-talks\/"},"modified":"2025-05-10T01:40:37","modified_gmt":"2025-05-10T01:40:37","slug":"trump-suggests-openness-to-slashing-china-tariffs-ahead-of-trade-talks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.insuracarelife.com\/blog\/trump-suggests-openness-to-slashing-china-tariffs-ahead-of-trade-talks\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Suggests Openness to Slashing China Tariffs Ahead of Trade Talks"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">President Trump suggested on Friday that he was open to sharply reducing the tariffs that the United States had imposed on China, as American and Chinese negotiators prepare to meet in Switzerland this weekend for high-stakes trade talks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Trade tensions between the United States and China have roiled international markets and the global economy. The negotiations on Saturday and Sunday are intended to de-escalate the situation and help set the stage for a broader trade pact between the two economic superpowers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In a post on social media, Mr. Trump said that an 80 percent tariff on China \u201cseems right,\u201d adding that it would be \u201cup to Scott B,\u201d an apparent reference to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">An 80 percent tariff would be a big drop from the current 145 percent that Mr. Trump imposed on Chinese imports in recent months. But that high a level would still shut off most trade between the countries. Chinese data released on Friday showed shipments from that country to the United States plunged 21 percent in April from the same period a year ago.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said on Friday afternoon that the 80 percent figure was one that Mr. Trump \u201cthrew out there\u201d and that a reduction would only happen as part of a negotiation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe president still remains with his position that he is not going to unilaterally bring down tariffs on China,\u201d Ms. Leavitt said. \u201cWe need to see concessions from them as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It\u2019s also unclear if the talks will lead to any short-term resolution for two governments that have serious economic disputes and have taken a harsh tone toward the other in recent months.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Trump administration has been racing to strike trade deals with other countries ahead of a self-imposed deadline for additional tariffs to go in effect on most trading partners. But it has remained in a standoff with China, which is already subject to a minimum tariff of 145 percent on all imports.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">This week, the two sides agreed to hold meetings in Geneva that will include Mr. Bessent; Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative; and He Lifeng, China\u2019s vice premier for economic policy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Stock markets in the United States opened higher on Friday after Mr. Trump expressed a willingness to lower tariffs and said in a separate post that many trade deals were \u201cin the hopper.\u201d On Thursday, Mr. Trump highlighted a new preliminary economic pact with Britain as evidence that his tariff strategy is working.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The recent elevation of Mr. Bessent, who is viewed as a pragmatist on trade, to lead the talks with China has also helped to calm markets. The Treasury secretary has argued that the tariffs and trade restrictions that the United States and China have levied are \u201cunsustainable\u201d and has urged Beijing to begin talks to address what the Trump administration views as unfair trade practices.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Despite signs of greater flexibility from Mr. Trump, an 80 percent tariff may not be low enough to restart business across the Pacific.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While it differs from company to company, some executives have said that tariffs above 50 percent are generally enough to freeze exports to the United States. Companies that are not able to find an alternative source of supply for their products outside China are facing the prospect of bankruptcy and layoffs as the summer grinds on and even 25 percent tariffs can be crippling.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles this week, Jane Fraser, the chief executive of Citigroup, said companies could withstand lower tariffs, though trade uncertainty had forced them to pause investment and hiring.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIf it is 10 percent, most of the clients we talk to say, \u2018Yeah, we can absorb that,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cIf it is 25 percent, not so much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Economists have warned that the chances of a recession in the United States are rising because of Mr. Trump\u2019s tariffs. Last month, the International Monetary Fund downgraded its outlook for the United States and global output.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While some companies have started to increase their prices as a result of the levies, the effects of Mr. Trump\u2019s tariffs haven\u2019t been so obvious yet for U.S. consumers. That is because it takes many weeks to ship items to the United States from China by sea, and because companies have stockpiled generous amounts of inventory ahead of the tariffs coming into effect.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But as trade between the United States and China remains at a standstill, those effects start to compound and become more apparent, in the form of higher prices and short supply.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe companies know what\u2019s happened,\u201d said Ryan Peterson, the chief executive of Flexport, a logistics company. \u201cTheir business models are under a huge amount of pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The longer the United States waited to make changes to tariffs, he added, \u201cthe more severe the shock will be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It remains unclear how Beijing will receive Mr. Trump\u2019s change of tone. After weeks of refusing to \u201ckneel down\u201d to the demands of the United States, China said it had decided to come to the table because of \u201cglobal expectations, China\u2019s interests and the calls of American industry and consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But it has also struck a defiant tone. \u201cWe have no fear,\u201d Hua Chunying, vice foreign minister, told reporters on Friday during a trip to China\u2019s countryside. \u201cWe do not want any kind of war with any country. But we have to face up to the reality,\u201d she said, according to a report from Reuters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Chinese government has not confirmed who else will be with Mr. He in talks with American officials. But Wang Xiaohong, China\u2019s minister of public security, was traveling with Mr. He in Switzerland, according to one source who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity. Any negotiations on fentanyl would be led by Mr. Wang, who is also the director of China\u2019s narcotics control commission.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The talks \u201cseem more like efforts to probe at the positions of the other side,\u201d said Ja-Ian Chong, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore. The Chinese side may say it is willing to make concessions in areas like balancing the country\u2019s trade surplus, or help to curb the export of precursors for fentanyl.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI am doubtful anything concrete is going to come out of this upcoming set of meetings,\u201d Mr. Chong added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But the Trump administration has been under pressure to show progress in trade talks after weeks of volatility in markets and growing fears on Wall Street and in corporate America of a downturn.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cEverything that\u2019s been going on with the meeting in Switzerland is very promising to us,\u201d Kevin Hassett, director of the White House\u2019s National Economic Council, said on CNBC on Friday. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing collegiality and also sketches of positive developments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Trump said at the White House this week that he expected the talks with China to be substantive. But analysts have tempered their optimism about a quick breakthrough because China usually prefers to engage in extended and formal negotiations. Besides tariff reductions, a more specific list of requirements from both sides are expected for a comprehensive deal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Despite Mr. Trump\u2019s affinity for imposing tariffs, in a separate post on Truth Social on Friday he made the case for open markets and called on China to expand access for American businesses.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cCHINA SHOULD OPEN UP ITS MARKET TO USA \u2014 WOULD BE SO GOOD FOR THEM!!! CLOSED MARKETS DON\u2019T WORK ANYMORE!!!\u201d <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/114477610338144415\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Trump wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Tony Romm<!-- --> contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Trump suggested on Friday that he was open to sharply reducing the tariffs that the United States had imposed on China, as American and Chinese negotiators prepare to meet in Switzerland this weekend for high-stakes trade talks. Trade tensions between the United States and China have roiled international markets and the global economy. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[569,203,803,974,973,804,199,246,158],"class_list":["post-1283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-ahead","tag-china","tag-openness","tag-slashing","tag-suggests","tag-talks","tag-tariffs","tag-trade","tag-trump"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insuracarelife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insuracarelife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insuracarelife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insuracarelife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insuracarelife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.insuracarelife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insuracarelife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insuracarelife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insuracarelife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insuracarelife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}