WASHINGTON — President Trump said Wednesday that he won’t lower tariffs topping 145% on Chinese goods to coax along trade talks — as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent prepares for a weekend sitdown with a delegation from Beijing.
“China says in order to have substantive negotiations, you have to bring down the 145% tariffs. Are you open to pulling back your tariffs in order to get China to the negotiating table?” a journalist asked Trump in the Oval Office.
“No,” Trump answered flatly — despite Bessent saying Tuesday he expects his talks in Switzerland with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng to be focused on “de-escalation” of tit-for-tat levies.
Although Trump says the US won’t unilaterally lower rates, optics have been important for both sides going into the talks — with each party saying the other initiated the discussion.
Bessent signaled on Fox News Tuesday night that Washington would welcome a mutual reduction, saying: “This isn’t sustainable, as I said before, especially on the Chinese side — and, you know, 145%, 125% is the equivalent of an embargo. We don’t want to decouple — what we want is fair trade.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Tuesday, however, that Beijing stands by its previous statements that it won’t negotiate unless Trump lowers the eye-watering rate.
“There isn’t any change in China’s position,” he said. “This tariff war is started by the US. If a negotiated solution is truly what the US. wants, it should stop threatening and exerting pressure, and seek dialogue with China on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit.”
The sky-high duties on Chinese goods has caused a dramatic reduction in shipping — and fears among US retailers that shelves will soon be empty.
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach — the nation’s busiest and third-busiest, respectively — said this week that they’ve seen a 44% drop in docked vessels for the week of May 4 compared to the same period last year — reflecting the impact of Trump’s tariffs.
Asset-management firm Apollo Global Management issued a report last week forecasting a recession this summer coupled with shortages of goods and layoffs by trucking companies and major retail chains.
Trump has brushed off the potential impact of new tariffs, particularly those against China, but economic pain in the US could jeopardize his public support and imperil his broader political agenda.
“You know, somebody said, ‘Oh, the shelves are going to be empty’. Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally,” the president said April 30.
China is one of America’s top three trading partners, along with Canada and Mexico.
The US imported $438.9 billion worth of goods from China last year, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative.
China imported $143.5 billion from the US in the same period of time.
The current average US tariff rate on Chinese goods is 147.6% according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics — up from about 21% when Trump took office in January.
