Politics
Trump Hints At Sizable Tariff Reduction As Pivotal China Trade Talks Begin
President Donald Trump said Friday that an “80% Tariff on China seems right!,” adding in a Truth Social post that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will ultimately decide on the final number. The post comes as senior Trump Administration officials begin opening trade talks with their Chinese counterparts in Switzerland over the weekend.
If Trump does decide on an 80 percent tariff on Chinese goods entering the U.S. it would amount to reduction of nearly half the 145 percent rate currently in place.
“CHINA SHOULD OPEN UP ITS MARKET TO USA — WOULD BE SO GOOD FOR THEM!!! CLOSED MARKETS DON’T WORK ANYMORE!!!” the president added in a follow-up post.
The post marked the first time Trump has floated a specific number after previously suggesting that the tariff could be lowered. “That was a number the president threw out there, and we’ll see what happens this weekend,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a briefing Friday, adding that Trump wouldn’t unilaterally lower the tariff and that China would be required to make “concessions.”
President Donald J. Trump joins Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, at the start of their bilateral meeting Saturday, June 29, 2019, at the G20 Japan Summit in Osaka, Japan
Photo: Official White House photo by Shealah Craighead
The president provided even more clarity on Saturday morning, when he suggested that a decrease as low as 50 percent is on the table. According to a report from the New York Post citing officials with knowledge of Saturday’s Switzerland talks, U.S. officials are currently discussing a proposal to lower the levy on China to anywhere between 50 and 54 percent as they begin what are almost certainly to be lengthy negotiations with Beijing.
Trade taxes on neighboring Southern Asian countries would also be cut to 25 percent, a source familiar with the meeting told The Post. “They are going to be bringing it down to 50% while the negotiations are ongoing,” the source said of the trade tax on China.
Trump appeared optimistic over the possibility of a reduction when introducing a new trade deal with the U.K. from the Oval Office on Thursday. “It’s at 145 so we know it’s coming down,” Trump told reporters. “I think we’re going to have a very good relationship.”
The 50-54 percent figure was settled on after Trump met with the heads of the three biggest retailers in the U.S. last month in order to work out a “sustainable” rate. The CEOs – Doug McMillon of Walmart, Brian Cornell of Target and Ted Decker of Home Depot – all said the April 21 meeting at the White House was “productive” and “constructive” without offering additional details.
Basic Fun CEO Jay Foreman, whose firm manufactures its goods in China, told the New York Post that a “whisper” campaign spread quickly and “the number that emerged to get the ships flowing out of China was 54 percent.”
“The signals we are getting is that the dam will break by the end of this week or next, that there will be an adjustment,” Foreman told the outlet.
As a result, many retailers are asking vendors to quote prices based on a range of tariff rates anywhere between 10 and 54 percent “so they are ready to price when the goods land,” he added.
When asked for comment, White House spokesman Kush Desai refused to confirm nor deny the report. “When decisions on tariffs are made, they will come directly from the President. Anything else is just pure speculation,” he said.
Still, business leaders felt “reassured” after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s remarks at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, a separate source told The Post. Bessent had stated that the current rates are “unsustainable” and suggested that preliminary negotiations were going smoothly.
“People are realizing that deals are going to be made,” the source added.
