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Donald Trump has said an 80 per cent tariff on Chinese imports “seems right” as the US president stakes out a position ahead of talks between Washington and Beijing this weekend.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Friday: “80% Tariff on China seems right! Up to Scott B” — a reference to a meeting due to start on Saturday in Geneva between US representatives led by Treasury secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese officials.
Trump also posted: “CHINA SHOULD OPEN UP ITS MARKET TO USA — WOULD BE SO GOOD FOR THEM!!! CLOSED MARKETS DON’T WORK ANYMORE!!!”
Washington and Beijing have been locked in an escalating trade war since Trump launched steep tariffs on all major trading partners in early April, rattling the global economy.
Many US allies chose to try and negotiate with the Trump administration rather than hit back with their own tariffs. However, Beijing retaliated with levies on US goods, prompting Trump to ratchet up tariffs on China to 145 per cent.
Speaking from the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump suggested the US was open to lowering its tariffs on Chinese goods following the meeting between US and Chinese officials in Switzerland this weekend.
Earlier reports had indicated that the Trump administration was aiming to cut tariffs below 60 per cent.
People familiar with the matter said the figures Trump floated in his Truth Social post were probably a negotiating tactic ahead of Saturday’s talks rather than an actual target.
Trump’s comments on the US-China trade war in recent months have repeatedly proved unreliable, including claims that he spoke to China’s President Xi Jinping since imposing tariffs — which people familiar with the situation said was not the case.
Bessent said earlier this week that his meeting with his Chinese counterpart He Lifeng was not intended to negotiate a big deal but was an effort to de-escalate the trade war. Bessent has said that the current high level of tariffs that the US and China have imposed on each other were “not sustainable”.
The meeting with Chinese officials comes just days after the US struck a limited trade deal with the UK. The US has been locked in negotiations with multiple countries for the past month, since Trump paused his tariffs for 90 days on most trading partners.
On Friday, Trump wrote on social media that there were “Many Trade Deals in the hopper, all good (GREAT!) ones!”
Privately, however, many foreign officials have indicated that talks with the US appear to be progressing slowly, with US officials unable to articulate specific demands.
The US’s deal with the UK left Trump’s 10 per cent baseline tariff in force, although the UK will be allowed to export 100,000 cars to the US free from Trump’s extra 25 per cent tariff on auto imports.
Despite the US’s steep tariffs on China, data on Friday showed that China’s exports grew sharply in April, strengthening Beijing’s hand ahead of the talks.
The strong performance came as Chinese companies diverted trade flows to south-east Asia, Europe and other destinations following the imposition of the tit-for-tat tariffs. Exports rose 8.1 per cent in dollar terms compared with a year earlier, China’s customs said.
