China and US sending conflicting messages on trade negotiations
The United States and China are sending conflicting messages about the status of trade negotiations as both sides maintain triple-digit tariffs on each other.
The United States and China are sending conflicting messages about the status of trade negotiations as both sides maintain triple-digit tariffs on each other.
The United States and China are sending conflicting messages about the status of trade negotiations as both sides maintain triple-digit tariffs on each other.
The United States and China are sending conflicting messages about the status of trade negotiations as both sides maintain triple-digit tariffs on each other.
China's Commerce Ministry spokesman He Yadong said on Thursday.
鈥淎ny claims about the progress of China-U.S. trade negotiations are groundless, as they are trying to catch the wind and have no factual basis," Yadong said.
The statement comes one day after President Donald Trump appeared to suggest that his administration was in active negotiations with Beijing. On Tuesday, Trump signaled that the final tariff rate on China would come down "substantially" from the current 145%.
Asked about China's comments on Thursday, Trump said, "They had meetings this morning and we have been meeting with China."
He declined to specify who his administration had been speaking to specifically.
Beijing is calling for a complete cancellation of "all unilateral tariff measures against China," as well as "equal dialogue" to resolve differences, according to Yadong.
Bill Reinsch, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said he expects both sides to come to the table eventually.
"I think there will be a negotiation. It's in the interest of both sides to have that happen. The level of tariffs that both sides have imposed is really trade prohibitive," Reinsch said.
Trump imposed 145 percent tariffs on imported Chinese goods, prompting Beijing to retaliate with 125% tariffs on U.S. products. The steep levies from the world's two largest economies will cause significant economic disruptions if they are not lowered soon, according to Reinsch.
"It鈥檚 going to be a blow to global economic growth," Reinsch said. "It's going to produce supply chain gaps, it's going to produce more expensive domestic products and more expensive imports and hurts the Chinese economy because they are an export-orientated economy."
In one example of the fallout from tariffs, two popular e-commerce sites founded in China, for U.S. consumers starting on Friday. The companies will also be impacted by Trump's decision, effective May 2, to end a customs exemption that allows certain low-value goods to come into the U.S. duty-free.
The Trump administration has said that more than 100 countries have reached out to them to initiate possible trade deals, with 34 meetings set for this week. Trump paused steep reciprocal tariffs on several countries for 90 days to allow for negotiations, but kept in place near-global 10 percent tariffs announced earlier this month.
On Thursday, Trump signaled positive momentum on trade talks after a White House meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr St酶re. He told reporters, "We get along very well on trade," and that he expects that they will "come to a conclusion very quickly."
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also reported progress on separate talks with South Korea.
"We may be moving faster than I thought, and we will be talking technical terms as early as next week," Bessent said. "The South Koreans came early, they came with their 'A' game and we will see if they follow through on that."