WASHINGTON: President Trump says he wants a ‘fair’ trade deal with China, but it’s still unclear when the two sides will break the deadlock over tariffs.
Speaking to reporters in Washington on Wednesday, Trump said talks with Beijing are ongoing and that both countries could reach an agreement. But top US officials gave no clear answers on how or when the current tariffs might be reduced.
Trump told reporters his country would have a “fair deal with China,” adding that “everything’s active” when asked whether Washington was talking to Beijing.
However, how soon the tariffs might be lowered “depends on them,” Trump said, referring to Beijing, even as he maintained that he gets along “very well” with Chinese President Xi Jinping and hopes they can reach an agreement.
Trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies have soared as Trump ramped up levies on imports from China this year, imposing an additional 145 percent tariff on many products over practices Washington has deemed unfair, and other issues.
Beijing, in turn, has retaliated with new 125 percent tariffs on US goods.
Despite signals that Washington is looking towards a fair agreement, the state of discussions remains murky.
Asked whether there is direct US contact with China on trade, Trump said: “Every day.”
Yet earlier Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that both countries are “not yet” talking when it comes to lowering tariffs.
“I think both sides are waiting to speak to the other,” he said at an event on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s spring meetings in Washington.
He added that there is no unilateral offer from Trump to slash duties on Chinese goods.
‘An embargo’
Bessent said the staggeringly high tariffs both countries have imposed on each other’s goods must come down before negotiations can occur.
“I don’t think either side believes that the current tariff levels are sustainable, so I would not be surprised if they went down in a mutual way,” he added on the sidelines of an Institute of International Finance forum.
“This is the equivalent of an embargo, and a break between the two countries in trade does not suit anyone’s interest,” Bessent said, stressing that “de-escalation by both sides is possible.”
But he gave no timeframe on how soon bilateral talks could take place.
“It’s both a blessing and a curse that the strongest relationship is at the very top,” Bessent said, referring to Trump’s ties with Chinese counterpart Xi. However, with “any de-escalation, the talks would not begin at the very top.”
While Trump has swiftly rolled out sharp tariffs on different countries and sectors, he has also been quick to introduce certain exemptions — most recently a temporary reprieve for tech products like smartphones and chipmaking tools.
He could broaden the carve-outs, the Financial Times reported Wednesday, saying Trump could exempt car parts from some tariffs on Chinese imports — alongside those on steel and aluminium.
On Wednesday afternoon, Trump said he was not considering changes to US auto tariffs but noted that levies on Canada could rise in terms of cars.
Separately, Bessent said Wednesday that he did not have a stance on whether the president had the authority to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell if he wanted to.
He suggested Trump’s previous comment that the “termination” of Powell could not come fast enough might also refer to the end of the Fed chief’s term.
Earlier Wednesday, Bessent said in a speech that Beijing’s export-reliant economic model is “unsustainable” and “not only harming China but the entire world.”
He stressed US concerns around trade imbalances that the Trump administration says it hopes to address through sweeping tariffs.
But Bessent maintained that “America first does not mean America alone.”
He insisted that the administration’s moves are broadly a call for deeper collaboration and mutual respect among trading partners, while taking aim at policy choices by other countries that he said have hollowed out US manufacturing and put its security at risk.
