By Skylar Woodhouse and Akayla Gardner
President Donald Trump said he’s unwilling to preemptively lower tariffs on China in order to unlock more substantive negotiations with Beijing on trade.
“No,” Trump said Wednesday when asked by a reporter if he is open to pulling back his 145% duties on Chinese imports to get the world’s second-largest economy to the negotiating table.
The president’s comments come before Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer meet this week in Switzerland with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on trade. Trump spoke at a swearing-in ceremony for his ambassador to China, David Perdue.
Trump’s stance underlines the massive divide between the US and China on trade and the difficult path they face to a possible agreement on lower tariff levels. It’s a dose of reality after Tuesday’s announcement of formal talks between the two sides generated optimism that the clash over import taxes could be resolved before it caused lasting economic damage.
The president denied the US had initiated the trade talks with China, saying those claiming that the negotiations had come at Washington’s urging “ought to go back and study their files.”
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