WASHINGTON—Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on April 23 that President Donald Trump hasn’t proposed reducing U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports on a unilateral basis, responding to recent speculation that the president is seeking to de-escalate trade tensions with Beijing.
When asked whether there would be a unilateral tariff reduction, Bessent said, “Not at all.”
“As I’ve said many times, I don’t think either side believes that the current tariff levels are sustainable, so I would not be surprised if they went down in a mutual way,” he said in response to a question following a keynote address at an Institute of International Finance event in Washington.
The White House also responded to a report that the president is considering a significant reduction in tariffs on Chinese imports to de-escalate the trade war, calling it “pure speculation.”
“President Trump has been clear: China needs to make a deal with the United States of America,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told The Epoch Times.
“When decisions on tariffs are made, they will come directly from the president. Anything else is just pure speculation.”
The response came after The Wall Street Journal reported on April 23, citing anonymous sources, that the Trump administration is considering slashing levies on Chinese imports by more than half in some cases to ease the trade tension.
The report also cited a senior official who suggested that the tariffs could be reduced to somewhere between 50 percent and 65 percent.
In response, the White House made it clear that the United States is not looking to lower tariffs unilaterally.
Any such step would happen only after negotiations and discussions with the Chinese side, a White House official said.
Trump spoke briefly to reporters at the White House on April 23 about the tariffs.
He said the United States has started generating revenue as a result of the high tariffs that he imposed recently. He also said that every country, including China, wants to meet with the administration to negotiate a trade agreement.
“This country is not going to be losing money on trade anymore,” Trump said, accusing China and the European Union of taking advantage of the United States on trade.
“We are going to have a fair deal with China. They know that they can’t get away with it any longer.”
He didn’t mention any plans to slash tariffs on China unilaterally.
Later, Trump clarified that he would set tariffs within the next two or three weeks if no agreement is reached with countries, potentially including China.
“If we don’t make a deal, which is possible, we’re going to just set the price,” Trump told reporters during the signing of several executive orders in the Oval Office. “We'll set a fair price, and then they can make a determination as to whether or not they want to do business with the United States.”
He also confirmed that his trade team is in contact with Chinese counterparts every day.
Chinese companies, workers, and industry insiders have reported being caught off guard by the escalating tariffs, with orders from the United States declining sharply and some companies being forced to take drastic steps.
Social media posts and videos warning of mass layoffs and extended “vacations” provide some sense of the concern growing throughout an export-driven economy that is already struggling with high unemployment, shrinking profits, and declining foreign investment.
At a swearing-in ceremony for new Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins on April 22, Trump said that his administration would “be very good to China” and that he would not “play hardball” with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office, Trump said a new deal would not have tariffs “anywhere near” as high as 145 percent.
The current tariff rate “will come down substantially, but it won’t be zero,” the president said.
“They are going to do very well, and I think they’re going to be happy, and I think we’re going to live together very happily and, ideally, work together,” he said.
He also noted that the United States would set the tariff rate if China did not make a deal.
Also on April 22, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested to a group of investors during a closed-door event in Washington that U.S.–China trade tensions could ease soon.
The secretary said that he expected that there would be de-escalation by both sides in the “very near future,” a person in the room told The Epoch Times.
Earlier this month, the administration imposed total tariffs of up to 245 percent on Chinese goods entering the country.
Beijing retaliated with 125 percent levies on U.S. products.
Currently, U.S. tariffs on many Chinese imports stand at 145 percent.
According to the White House, some Chinese products, including electric vehicles and syringes, face tariffs as high as 245 percent because of the combined effect of reciprocal levies, tariffs imposed in response to fentanyl precursors from China, and Section 301 tariffs imposed during both the Trump and Biden administrations, which range from about 7.5 percent to 100 percent.
