US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent on Wednesday said that high tariffs between the US and China are not sustainable, as US President Donald Trump’s administration signaled openness to de-escalating a trade war between the world’s two largest economies that has raised fears of recession.
The tariffs — 145 percent on Chinese products and 125 percent on US products — would have to come down before trade talks can proceed, Bessent said, but added that Trump would not make that move unilaterally.
“Neither side believes that these are sustainable levels. As I said yesterday, this is the equivalent of an embargo and a break between the two countries in trade does not suit anyone’s interest,” Bessent said.
Photo: AFP
The White House is open to discussing a significant rate cut on Chinese imports to advance negotiations with Beijing, but would not do so alone, a person familiar with the conversations said.
That person would not say how low the White House might be willing to go, but the Wall Street Journal reported the figure could be as low as 50 percent.
A White House spokesperson dismissed the reports as “pure speculation,” and said news on tariffs would come from Trump himself.
“We are going to have a fair deal with China,” Trump said, but did not outline any specifics.
The tariff levels outlined in the Wall Street Journal report would likely still be high enough to deter a significant chunk of trade between the world’s two largest economies.
German shipper Hapag-Lloyd on Wednesday said that 30 percent of its US-bound shipments from China have been canceled.
Separate talks between China and the US over tackling the fentanyl epidemic have not yielded results so far, sources said.
The apparent US softening on China tariffs was a welcome sign for markets battered by Trump’s trade policies. The benchmark S&P 500 was up 2.11 percent in midday trading, but was still more than 12 percent below its February record close.
“It’s about all of the political and policy uncertainty and what it could mean for the economy in the near term,” Plante Moran Financial Advisors chief investment officer Jim Baird said.
Bessent said the third quarter of this year is a “reasonable estimate” for achieving clarity on the ultimate level of Trump’s tariffs.
In addition to the steep tariffs on China, Trump has also imposed a blanket 10 percent tariff on all other US imports and higher duties on steel, aluminum and autos. He has suspended targeted tariffs on dozens of other countries until July 9 and floated additional industry-specific levies on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. That has roiled financial markets and raised fears of recession.
The EU, which Trump has threatened with 20 percent tariffs, would respond with countertariffs if it cannot reach a deal with the US before the July 9 deadline, European Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis said on Wednesday.
The 27-member trade bloc has offered to buy more liquid natural gas from the US and reduce tariffs on some goods, he added.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
Prices of gasoline and diesel products at domestic fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.2 and NT$0.3 per liter respectively, after international crude oil prices increased last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week snapped a two-week losing streak as the geopolitical situation between Russia and Ukraine turned increasingly tense, CPC said in a statement. News that some oil production facilities in Alberta, Canada, were shut down due to wildfires and that US-Iran nuclear talks made no progress also helped push oil prices to a significant weekly gain, Formosa said
MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,
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