The Trump administration plans to announce new tariffs in the coming weeks.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that his administration may be open to reaching a “special deal” with China that would see a reduction in tariffs on Chinese imports but stressed that such an agreement would depend on Beijing’s actions.
Speaking to reporters during an Oval Office meeting, Trump said he could announce new tariffs on nearly all of America’s trading partners in the next two or three weeks, adding that his administration would be “fair” in the rates that were levied on those nations.
“Maybe we’ll make a special deal” with China, Trump said.
He did not provide further details regarding what such a deal might look like.
When asked when such a deal might be reached with China, Trump said, “That depends on them.”
He said that his administration has been in contact with China “every day.”
Trump’s tariffs on most imports from China currently stand at 145 percent, as his administration continues to try to balance trade deficits and put pressure on the Chinese regime to curb China’s export of fentanyl into the United States.
China has responded to Trump’s tariffs by imposing 125 percent levies on U.S. imports and placing export restrictions on rare-earth minerals that are used to make weapons, electronics, and a range of consumer goods, among other measures.
At the Oval Office, Trump also reiterated previous claims that the United States has been “ripped off” by “every country in the world,” and said that this would no longer be the case going forward, particularly when it comes to Beijing.
“I have great relationships in China and with [Chinese leader Xi Jinping] in particular, but China has been charging us massive tariffs for many years,” Trump said.
“So now we’re reversing it, but at levels that nobody’s ever seen before.
“We’re going to get along great with China, I have no doubt about it.”
The report also cited a senior official who suggested that the tariffs could be reduced by between 50 percent and 65 percent.
“President Trump has been clear: China needs to make a deal with the United States of America,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told The Epoch Times.
China is excluded from the pause.
Trump told reporters at the Oval Office that around 90 of the countries subject to U.S. tariffs are willing to negotiate a deal.
“In the end, what I think is going to happen is we’re going to have great deals, and by the way, if we don’t have a deal with a company or a country, we’re going to set the tariff,” he said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, an index of blue-chip stocks, advanced by more than 900 points, or more than 2 percent, while the benchmark S&P 500 Index jumped by more than 100 points, or 2.5 percent.
Elsewhere, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index soared by close to 600 points, or 3.6 percent.
On Thursday, Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman He Yadong said that any suggestion of progress in bringing tariff rates down was groundless.
Andrew Moran contributed to this report.
