US President Donald Trump wrote in his account on the social network Truth Social about a «complete reset» in trade relations between the US and China after the first day of negotiations in Geneva between high-ranking American and Chinese officials. «We want to see, for the benefit of both China and the US, the opening of China to American business», — Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social, adding: «GREAT PROGRESS MADE!!!»
Meanwhile, none of the participants in the eight-hour talks made statements about the content of the discussions and did not report any specific progress in reducing tariffs. The meetings at the residence of the Swiss ambassador to the UN ended around 8:00 PM local time. From Washington, the negotiations are led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamison Greer. From Beijing, the negotiations are led by He Lifeng, China's Vice Premier for economic policy.
On Friday, Trump for the first time proposed a specific alternative to the 145-percent tariffs, stating that an 80-percent tariff on Chinese goods «seems right».
As writes The New York Times, the negotiations have serious implications for the global economy, which has been shaken by the tariffs imposed by the United States and China in recent months. Trump imposed minimum tariffs of 145% on all Chinese imports (for some types of goods they totaled 245%), and China imposed a 125-percent import tax on American goods.
Meanwhile, economists have skeptically assessed the likelihood of a quick conclusion of a deal. «We believe that expectations should be lowered regarding what might happen as a result of the negotiations between US and Chinese officials this weekend», — wrote Nancy Vanden Houten, an American economist from Oxford Economics, in an analytical note on Saturday. Houten explained that even if the United States reduces tariffs on Chinese imports to 80%, it will still be three times higher than projected at the time of Trump's election.
Photo: AP