White House weighs tariff cut to ease trade tensions with China
The White House is considering a significant reduction in tariffs on the import of Chinese goods to ease the trade dispute with China, "The Wall Street Journal" reported on Wednesday. According to the newspaper's sources, the tariffs could decrease from 145% to 50-65%.
"WSJ" noted that a final decision has not yet been made, and discussions on this matter are still ongoing in the White House. The reduction of tariffs—which are currently so high that they effectively act as an embargo on many Chinese products—is intended to de-escalate trade tensions with Beijing. This situation was initiated by the imposition of additional reciprocal tariffs by the US, leading to a total rate of 145%.
According to one of the newspaper's sources, eventually, tariffs on Chinese goods might fall to 50-65%. The American administration is also considering different rates for various categories of goods: 35% for non-essential national security goods and 100% for products from strategic areas of the economy.
Trump talks about tariffs
The possibility of reducing tariffs was already suggested on Tuesday by US President Donald Trump. When asked about comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who reportedly stated at a closed conference organized by JP Morgan that the current tariff levels are unsustainable, Trump agreed with this view.
"145% is very high and it won’t be that high. It won’t be anywhere near that high. It’ll come down substantially. But it won’t be zero," Trump said.
He also noted he intends to be "nice" to China and will not "play hardball" with them. Already on Tuesday, following the remarks from Bessent and Trump, stock prices on Wall Street rebounded sharply after recent declines, continuing to rise on Wednesday. According to "WSJ," Trump's actions are a response to these declines, aimed at calming the worsening sentiment among investors.
"In China and the US, these are no longer tariff 'dances' like in previous years. It's a total trade war. Resolutions will only come when societies feel the pain, unemployment," wrote Jakub Jakobowski, Director of the Center for Eastern Studies, on the X platform in early April.
In a communiqué issued on April 11, Chinese authorities stated that if the United States continues its tariff-related tactics, China will disregard them. However, they warned that should the American side persist in making significant violations of Chinese interests, China will strongly oppose such actions and is prepared to fight to the end.
