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WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump signalled on Friday that he could lower sky-high tariffs on Chinese imports, as the rival superpowers prepare for trade talks in Switzerland over the weekend.
“80% Tariff on China seems right!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, which would bring them down from 145pc, with cumulative duties on some goods reaching a staggering 245pc.
Trump added that it was “Up to Scott B.”, referring to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who will confer with China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng this weekend in Geneva to try to cool the conflict roiling international markets.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will also attend the trade talks in Switzerland. In his post, Trump did not say if he thought 80pc should be the final, definitive level for tariffs on Chinese goods if and when the trade war ends, or an interim status.
In retaliation to the steep tariffs from Washington, China has slapped 125pc levies on US goods.
The cripplingly high duties amount to an effective trade embargo between the world’s two largest economies, with private shipping data already pointing to a sharp slowdown in goods going from China to the United States.
Beijing has insisted its position that the United States must lift tariffs first remains “unchanged” and vowed to defend its interests. Bessent has said the meetings in Switzerland would focus on “de-escalation” and not a “big trade deal.”
The WTO head on Friday welcomed the talks, calling them a “positive and constructive step toward de-escalation”.
The talks in Geneva between Bessent and Chinese vice premier He Lifeng will come two days after Trump unveiled what he called a historic trade agreement with Britain, the first deal with any country since he unleashed a blitz of sweeping global tariffs last month.
Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2025
