US President Donald Trump remains firm that the United States is not going to unilaterally reduce tariffs on Chinese goods without concessions from China, the White House said on Friday (May 9), Reuters reports.
The statement from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt comes hours after Trump floated the idea of reducing the current rate of 145% down to 80% as the two sides prepare for talks between in Switzerland.
"That was a number the president threw out there, and we'll see what happens this weekend," Leavitt told reporters.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and chief trade negotiator Jamieson Greer will meet Chinese economic tsar He Lifeng in Switzerland for talks aimed at containing a trade war between the world's two biggest economies.
It could be the first step toward resolving a damaging trade conflict that has already entangled global supply chains.
China is also sending a top public-security official to the talks in Geneva, a source familiar with the plans said. The development, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, is an indication of the importance of the issue of fentanyl trafficking to the talks and the wider U.S.-China relationship.
