President Donald Trump said on Friday, before important trade talks that he was open to reducing tariffs on China to 80%. However, this level might still be higher than what investors and business leaders were expecting.
Trump posted on Truth Social, saying: “80% Tariff on China seems right! Up to Scott B.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is one of the U.S. officials who will meet with Chinese representatives in Switzerland this weekend.
An 80% tariff would be a significant cut from the current 145% tax on many Chinese goods. However, it could still be seen as too high for trade to grow. It’s also much higher than the 10% tariff agreed on in the U.S.-U.K. trade deal announced on Thursday.
It’s not clear if Trump wants the 80% tariff to be permanent for China, or if it’s just a starting point for talks.
In a separate post, Trump said “Many Trade Deals in the hopper, all good (GREAT!) ones!”
China is seen as a significant obstacle in Trump’s plan to change global trade. While many other big countries had some of his earlier tariffs paused on April 9, tensions between the U.S. and China grew. Eventually, both countries ended up imposing tariffs of more than 100% on each other’s goods.
China is one of the U.S.’s biggest trading partners. In 2024, the U.S. sold $143.5 billion worth of goods to China while buying $438.9 billion worth of goods from China, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
In another Truth Social post on Friday morning, Trump said, “CHINA SHOULD OPEN UP ITS MARKET TO USA — WOULD BE SO GOOD FOR THEM!!! CLOSED MARKETS DON’T WORK ANYMORE!!!”
The talks in Switzerland this weekend are not expected to lead to a full trade deal. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on “Power Lunch” Thursday that he hopes the discussions will bring “stability” and serve as “a foundation for something bigger.”
Recent shipping data shows a big drop in the amount of goods being shipped from China to the U.S. This has raised concerns that prices may go up or that there could be shortages of some items in the next few weeks.
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