Trump to end US-China trade war? US President says China tariffs to ‘come down substantially’

During a question-answer session in the Oval Office, Trump said “145% is very high and it won’t be that high. It won’t be anywhere near that high. It’ll come down substantially. But it won’t be zero.”

The remarks by Trump comes after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier on Tuesday commented that high tariff rates between the United States and China were “unsustainable” and that he expects a “de-escalation” in the trade war between the two largest economies in the world.

Trump has raised import tariffs on Chinese goods to 145% and in retaliatory measure, China has increased tariffs on American products to 120%. Trump announced his reciprocal tariffs on all its global trading partners on April 2 with a range of 10% to 50%, only to place it under moratorium for three months amid turmoil in the market.

Treasury Secretary Bessent, in his earlier remark regarding the US-China trade war, said that “I do say China is going to be a slog in terms of the negotiations. Neither side thinks the status quo is sustainable,” Associated Press reported.

As the signal by the Trump administration was clear of de-escalation from the trade war, the US stock market gave a green signal as the S&P 500 stock index rose 2.5%.

Despite imposing a 145% tariff on Chinese goods and up to 245% on some Chinese products, Trump said “We’re doing fine with China. We’re going to live together very happily and ideally work together.”