Washington, Apr 23 (EFE).- US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the tariffs imposed on Chinese imports will be “substantially” reduced from the current 145 percent, expressing optimism about the possibility of reaching an agreement with Beijing.
The US leader told reporters at an Oval Office press conference that he would “substantially” reduce the current tariffs on Chinese goods, “but it won’t be zero.”
“We’re going to be very nice. They’re going to be very nice, and we’ll see what happens,” he said referring to the Chinese government.
He also urged Beijing to come to an agreement or he would make a deal.
“I think we’re going to live together very happily and ideally work together, so I think it’s going to work out very well,” he said.
Trump’s comments came shortly after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the current tariff dispute with China was unsustainable.
Bessent said he expected a “de-escalation” in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
“No one thinks the current status quo is sustainable,” he said at a private investor summit in Washington on Tuesday.
The US istration is working to finalize trade deals in May with most of the countries on which it has imposed tariffs, while the trade war is focused on China.
Last week, Trump said his istration was in talks with Beijing to reach a deal in the coming weeks, while his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, has maintained 125 percent tariffs on American goods and taken other measures, such as vetoing deliveries of Boeing aircraft.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who defended the tariff truce, has ed Bessent in influencing Trump’s decisions, which have escalated the trade war following the hard line of his economic policy adviser Peter Navarro. EFE
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