US President Donald Trump has signalled he is open to lowering massive tariffs imposed on China, as he acknowledged that the current levies are so high that the two of the world's largest economies have essentially stopped doing business with each other. As part of his 'America First' policy, Trump has imposed a universal 10 per cent tariff on most goods coming into the United States, but duties on Chinese imports were placed as high as 145 per cent. In retaliation, China hiked tariffs by 125 per cent on American imports.
The escalating trade standoff between Beijing and Washington has rattled financial markets and risks driving up costs for manufacturing equipment as well as those of affordable goods like clothing and toys that many Americans rely on.
"At some point, I'm going to lower them, because otherwise, you could never do business with them, and they want to do business very much," Trump said in an interview on NBC's 'Meet the Press with Kristen Welker'.
The US President pointed to recent economic struggles in China, where factory activity has declined into the worst contraction since 2023, according to the official manufacturing purchasing managers' index. Furthermore, new export orders have dropped to their lowest point since December 2022, marking the sharpest decline since April of that year, when Shanghai was placed under a full pandemic lockdown, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Trump stated that there have been "positive" statements from Beijing recently, while reiterating that any deal finalised with China has to be "fair."
Meanwhile, Beijing on Friday showed first signs of being open to sit across the US on the negotiation table since Trump's tariffs were announced last month, and said it was evaluating the possibility of trade talks with Washington.
"China is currently evaluating this," the ministry's statement said.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said he has no plans to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, saying the two sides are "talking about different things."
He added that the US is in trade discussions with several countries, including China, and emphasised he's looking for a "fair deal," repeating his claim that "China has been ripping us off for many years."
