Seung Min Kim and Josh Boak, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump on Friday cut Chinese tariffs from 145% to 80% ahead of a weekend meeting with the top US and Chinese trade officials.
As Trump sparked strict tariffs and trade wars on imports, the two countries will meet with high-level Swiss Chinese delegations and Swiss Chinese delegations in the first major talks.
“China’s 80% tariff seems right! Until Scott B,” Trump wrote on his social media account on Friday morning, referring to his Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent, the point person in trade. The Republican president also called on China to open a market for the US, writing:
The Trump administration announced this week that Becent and US trade representative Jamieson Greer will meet with his Geneva counterpart for months in the best-known conversations between the two countries. That lies in increasing US market concerns about the impact of tariffs on the prices and supply of consumer goods.
No country has been hit harder by Trump’s trade war than China, the world’s largest exporter and the second largest economy. When Trump announced the “liberation day” tariffs on April 2, China retaliated with its own tariffs. This is a move Trump saw as indicating a lack of respect. Since then, tariffs on each other’s goods have increased, with US tariffs currently at 145% and China’s tariffs at 125%.
Trump previously said he would not lower tariffs on China to hold substantial talks. However, he showed signs of softening during an oval office appearance on Thursday. He said that if the weekend talk goes well, the 145% charge charged for Chinese products can be “lower.”
“We’re going to see,” Trump said. “Now you can’t be any more. It’s 145, so we know it’s coming down.”
The president’s team acknowledged that the 145% tariff was not sustainable because the tax rate was effectively an embargo on trade between the two countries.
However, it remains unclear how Trump can harmonize the contradictions with his stated goals. He wants a large amount of tariff revenue to offset his income tax cuts, but he also wants transactions to increase market access for US goods that may require lower tariffs. His aides say he wants to isolate China, but his tariffs on other trading partners make it difficult to create a durable alliance on trade.
Original issue: May 9, 2025, 8:58am EDT
