- The U.S. hasn’t started trade talks with China despite both sides imposing steep tariffs.
- Trump hinted at lowering tariffs eventually but insists China must act first.
- Bessent warned China’s tariffs could cost them up to 10 million jobs if left in place.
Trade talks between the U.S. and China? Still not happening. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed on Tuesday that Washington hasn’t initiated any negotiations with Beijing, even though both sides have already slapped some heavy tariffs on each other’s imports.
“China, we have not engaged in negotiations with as of yet,” Bessent told lawmakers during a House Appropriations Committee hearing. He didn’t clarify whether either side had actually asked for talks—or if anyone’s even picking up the phone at this point.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, but yeah… no reply yet.
Tariff tension keeps climbing
This all stems from the Trump administration’s massive tariff rollout on April 2, targeting a long list of countries over what the president’s called “unfair trade practices.” The policy was later adjusted a bit—by April 9, the U.S. announced tariffs on Chinese goods would jump straight to 145%, while other nations got a 90-day break with a 10% baseline instead. In response, China fired back with a 125% tariff hike on U.S. goods.
So yeah, it’s been tit-for-tat ever since.
Trump’s stance? Tough, but maybe flexible—eventually
President Trump has hinted that he’s open to lowering tariffs on China eventually, but only if Beijing makes the first move. “At some point, I’m going to lower them because otherwise you could never do business with them,” he said in a recent interview with NBC’s Meet the Press. “They want to do business very much… their economy is collapsing.”
He also told reporters on Air Force One that he’s hoping for a “fair” trade deal and that some kind of backchannel conversations are happening. That said, no formal talks have kicked off just yet.
China responds—but puts the ball firmly in U.S. court
China’s Commerce Ministry responded Friday with a statement basically saying, we’re open to talks… if the U.S. gets serious. According to them, the U.S. needs to show real intent, drop the unilateral tariffs, and stop pushing “wrong practices” if it actually wants to talk.
Their stance is: you started this—now fix it.
Bessent warns: These tariffs might backfire on China
Back at the White House in late April, Bessent warned that the tariffs could cause major job losses in China. He claimed that if the current tariffs stick, China could be staring down 10 million job losses. Even if they ease up, the damage could still mean 5 million jobs gone.
“They sell almost five times more stuff to us than we sell to them,” Bessent noted. “So the pressure’s on them. These tariffs? They’re not sustainable for China.”
He also mentioned that the U.S. is actively negotiating with other countries, and hinted that some major new trade deals might be announced as early as this week.
