Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that the Trump administration has made progress in its trade negotiations with China.
“We will be giving details tomorrow. “But I can tell you that the talks were productive,” Bessent told members of the media on Sunday from Switzerland. “We had the vice premier, two vice ministers who were integrally involved, Ambassador Jamieson [Greer] and myself. And I spoke to President Trump, as did Ambassador Jamieson last night, and he is fully informed of what is going on.”
The Trump administration has leveled tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese goods as the president looks to bring parity to the nation’s chronic trade deficit with foreign countries. Trump paused his April 2 reciprocal tariff plan on dozens of nations as countries called on the administration to make trade deals, but he upped the ante on China after Beijing rebuked Trump’s trade policies with tariffs of its own, including 125% duty taxes on U.S. goods.
Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with their Chinese counterparts this weekend in Switzerland to discuss the countries’ economic futures, which Trump addressed in a Truth Social post on Saturday evening.
TRUMP SAYS ‘TOTAL RESET NEGOTIATED’ WITH CHINA DURING TARIFF TALKS IN GENEVA
“Many things discussed, much agreed to. A total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner. We want to see, for the good of both China and the U.S., an opening up of China to American business. GREAT PROGRESS MADE!!!” he posted on Truth Social.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said earlier this month that officials were “evaluating” an offer from the Trump administration to hold trade talks on the 145% U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.
PIVOTAL TRADE TALKS WITH BEIJING LOOM AS TRUMP SWEARS IN NEW US AMBASSADOR TO CHINA: ‘WHAT TIMING’
“The U.S. has recently taken the initiative on many occasions to convey information to China through relevant parties, saying it hopes to talk with China,” the statement said, according to Reuters.
Trump and the administration have previously said they were willing to hold trade negotiations with China, including the president saying on April 8, “We are waiting for their call. It will happen.”
TRUMP SAYS 80% TARIFF ON CHINA ‘SEEMS RIGHT’ AHEAD OF WEEKEND TALKS WITH BEIJING
The update on China comes after the Trump administration inked a separate trade deal with the UK last week – the first trade deal signed since Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement on April 2 that leveled tariffs on nations worldwide as the administration looked to end trade barriers on U.S. goods and even the playing field for U.S. exports.
“With this deal, the U.K. joins the United States in affirming that reciprocity and fairness is an essential and vital principle of international trade,” Trump said Thursday of the deal. “The deal includes billions of dollars of increased market access for American exports, especially in agriculture, dramatically increasing access for American beef, ethanol and virtually all of the products produced by our great farmers.”
The UK deal keeps an existing 10% tariff in place against U.K. goods, while removing some import taxes on items like steel and cars.
