Josh Bork and Fatima Hussein
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent said in a speech Tuesday that the ongoing tariff showdown against China is unsustainable and that he hopes for “emission removal” in the trade war between the two biggest economies in the world.
However, in JPMorgan Chase’s personal speech in Washington, Bessent warned that talks between the US and China have not yet been officially launched. Trump placed a 145% import tax on China, which he refuted with a 125% tariff on US goods. Trump has placed tariffs on dozens of countries, and stock markets have stumbled and interest rates have increased U.S. debt as investors worry about slowing economic growth and higher inflation pressures.
“China says it will be slow from a negotiation perspective,” Bescent said according to a transcript obtained by the Associated Press. “Neither side believes the status quo is sustainable.”
The S&P 500 stock index rose after Bloomberg News initially reported Bessent’s remarks.
The Trump administration met in talks with counterparts in Japan, India, South Korea, the European Union, Canada, Mexico and other countries. But Trump has shown no official indication that he is planning to pull back his baseline 10% tariffs, despite claiming he is looking for other countries to cut his import taxes and remove non-tariff barriers that the administration says have blocked exports from the US.
Original issue: April 22, 2025, 1:55pm
