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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that any de-escalation in the American-Chinese trade war should be mutual, denying the suggestions that President Donald Trump would unilaterally reduce samples from Chinese goods.
Addressing journalists on Wednesday, Bessent said: “There must have been a de -escalation on both sides”, echoing the comments he made on Tuesday at a JPMorgan conference, where he warned that American China The trade war was “not sustainable”.
Bessent said the high level of prices that the United States and China had imposed itself was “the equivalent of an embargo”. Trump imposed a 145% sample on Chinese products and Beijing retalled With a duty of 125%.
“A break between the two countries on trade is not suitable for anyone's interests,” said Bessent.
When asked if the United States would make a unilateral offer to defuse trade tensions with China, Bessent replied: “Not at all”.
His remarks came after the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday that Trump was considering a unilateral cup price on China.
When he was asked later on Wednesday how long the United States could reduce prices on China, Trump told journalists “.
Answering a question to find out if he was worried about the impact that his 145% rate on Chinese products was on small American businesses, Trump replied: “No”.
“It's a high price, but I haven't shot it,” he said. “It essentially means that China is doing no deal with us … because this is a very high number.”
Trump added that the United States and China were in direct contact “every day”. Officials have had work level commitments in recent months, but there has been no trade negotiations.
American actions have handed over some of their earlier gains on the back of Bessent's comments, the Blue's first -order S&P 500, ending the day of 1.7% in New York. Heavy nasdaq composite in technology has won 2.5%.
The two clues had largely sold on the concerns on Monday that Trump planned to dismiss the president of the American federal reserve Jay Powell. On Tuesday, the president reassured the markets saying that he had “no intention” to send him back.
“Uncertainty and inconsistency are economic poison,” said Steven Gray, investment director at Gray Value Management. “By constantly overthrowing itself and taking over the previous commitments, this White House has definitively conditioned everyone to take its declarations with a grain of salt.”
Bessent warned that the two countries had had no commercial maintenance. Familiar sources with discussions in Washington and Beijing said that China had clearly indicated that it considered Trump's prices as a form of economic intimidation and would not cap.
“The two parties are waiting to speak to the other,” said Bessent, who would not be drawn at the time of the discussions.
Asked about the position of China that the United States used prices as a form of intimidation, Trump said: “China has charged massive American prices for many years … Now we reverse it.”
Bessent told investors of the JPMorgan conference which, on the basis of data two weeks ago, reservations of Maritime containers from China to Washington had dropped by 64%.
“It is both a blessing and a curse that the strongest relationship is at the top,” he said. “It is therefore between President XI (Jinping) and President Trump, and obviously, in any de -escalation, the talks would not start at the top, so I have no delay.”
Trump said he wanted to negotiate with XI, but the Chinese clearly indicated that they would not consider a telephone call, but only a summit, until the officials on both sides have hammered the contours of a possible trade agreement.
A person familiar with the situation said that the leaders of the management of Walmart and Target had given a striking warning to Trump of the impact that the prices had on the trade at a meeting of the White House on Monday.
An investor from New York pointed out that it was very difficult to interpret the comments of Bessent and Trump. “Who devil knows how much weight you attribute (Bessent's comments on China and Trump's pivot on Powell),” said the person. “The market is a perpetual yo-yo.”
