While expectations are limited for this weekend’s talks, the very fact that they’re happening at all offers cause for optimism
People familiar with preparations for the talks, which are due to begin in Geneva on Saturday led by United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, say the U.S. side has set a target of reducing tariffs below 60 per cent as a first step that they feel China may be prepared to match. Progress in two days of scheduled discussions could see those cuts being implemented as soon as next week, they said.
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The talks are likely to be exploratory and more geared toward airing grievances rather than hammering out solutions to the long list of problems each side has with the other, said the people, who asked not to be identified. The situation is fluid, meaning there’s no certainty tariff levels will decline in the near term, they said.
Also high on the U.S. wish list is securing the removal of China’s export restrictions on rare earths used to make magnets as a range of industries face disruption, the people said. Progress has also been made on the issue of fentanyl. The people said separate talks could soon occur on reducing Chinese exports of the ingredients used to make the opiate, which has led to a surge in overdose deaths in recent years.
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Both the Treasury and the office of U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who is joining Bessent in the talks, declined to comment. In a statement, White House spokesman Kush Desai said: “The administration’s only goal with these talks is to advance President Trump’s America First economic agenda towards fair and reciprocal trade relations. Any discussion about ‘target’ tariff rates is baseless speculation.”
he biggest issue confronting the Trump administration is that tariffs between the world’s two-largest economies have risen so high, with U.S. duties on many Chinese imports at 145 per cent. Even a dramatic de-escalation is unlikely to ease much pain for American consumers amid warnings of higher prices and empty shelves this summer.
In comments Thursday, U.S. officials from President Donald Trump on down made clear their desire to reduce the tariffs he hiked rapidly in response to Chinese retaliation to his April 2 announcement of new duties.
https://financialpost.com/news/economy/trump-seeks-tariff-cuts-rare-earth-china-talks?tbref=hp