Trump proposes lowering tariffs on China to 80%.

WashingtonUS President Donald Trump set the terms of negotiations with China this Friday in a post on Truth Social, on the eve of the meeting between the two countries' delegations to de-escalate the trade war. "An 80% tariff on China seems like the right one! It's up to Scott B.," the president wrote early in the post, referring to Scott Bessent, the US Treasury Secretary.

In the post, Trump also outlined the concessions Beijing would have to make to achieve this reduction: opening its market in the US. "China should open its market in the United States, it would be very good for them!" "Closed markets no longer work!" in April were 34%, a figure much lower than the proposed reduction. Even so, the reduction from 145% to 80% would have a significant impact on the current situation, where port trade has cooled. containers, due to "uncertainty in export trade." During the announcement of the trade agreement with the United Kingdom, when one of the journalists asked the president about this cooling of port traffic, the Republican tried to minimize the problem and portrayed it as being good, not saying.

During the announcement of the trade agreement with the United Kingdom WednesdayTrump also stated that he believed the weekend meeting with China would be "a substantial meeting." In fact, on Thursday he already raised the possibility of lowering tariffs. "They can't go any higher, they're 145%, so we know they're going to come down," he said. Trump stated that he would like to see China "open" to an agreement: "I think we'll have a good weekend with China," he opined.

On Wednesday night, Bessent was the first to suggest that there would be a meeting this weekend between the two powers in Switzerland. Bessent publicly acknowledged that a trade war with China of its current magnitude was not "sustainable" and asserted that he hoped for a "de-escalation." "China will be a difficult battle in terms of negotiations," Bessent stated at the time, adding: "Neither side believes that thestatus quobe sustainable." At the same time, that same week Beijing expressed its willingness to begin negotiations with Washington, but warned that it would not continue the talks if the White House's threats continued.

Business pressure

HeWall Street Journalexclusively reported that US President Donald Trump was considering halving the current tariffs imposed on China. The easing of his tone with China came after Trump met with senior executives from major retailers in the country, such as Target, Walmart, and Home Depot. Representatives from the companies warned the president that taxes on Chinese imports would increase the price of their products.

The impact of trade policies has also been felt in Beijing. This week, China's central bank lowered interest rates to increase and inject more money into the economy. This is the largest economic policy taken by Chinese authorities to try to limit the impact of the fallout from the trade war initiated by Trump.