President Donald Trump said Wednesday that there are direct talks between the US and China “every day” as the two countries negotiate on trade.
“Yeah, of course, every day,” the president said when asked about direct contact between the US and China.
As a tit-for-tat trade war escalated dramatically over the past couple months, Trump raised tariffs on Chinese imports to at least 145%, alarming Wall Street and economists alike. Many major banks predicted the massive tariffs — as well as China’s major retaliatory tariffs on US goods — would plunge the US and global economies into a recession.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday at a private investment conference hosted by JP Morgan Chase acknowledged that the trade war with China is unsustainable and he expects the battle to de-escalate in the very near future, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN. He said the tariffs are effectively embargoes on each nation, preventing business from taking place.
Trump echoed that sentiment in an Oval Office executive action signing ceremony Wednesday.
“It’s 145%. That’s very high,” Trump said. “But I haven’t brought it down. It basically means China is not doing any business with us, essentially, because it’s a very high number.”
Although he has said the significant tariffs would come down soon, Bessent predicted they wouldn’t be eliminated — a notion Trump echoed.
Stocks surged after Bessent’s remarks Tuesday and continued to rise Wednesday.
Trump also called trade with China “very one-sided” but said he gets “along very well with President Xi.”
“I have to hope we can make a deal, otherwise we’ll set a price,” he added.
