US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent has suggested US tariffs on Chinese goods will not be reduced any further following Washington’s interim deal with Beijing, as he held out the prospect that the duties could stabilise close to their current levels.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Bessent described the 90-day deal as a “pause” that brought Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” on China down to 10 per cent.
“I’m not saying they are going to go up, but it would be implausible that they would go below 10 [per cent],” he said, arguing that such a level would mean “very little disruption”.
Washington is also keeping in place 20 per cent fentanyl tariffs on Chinese imports.
The consultancy Capital Economics calculated that, including duties that predated the US president’s return to power this year, US tariffs on Chinese goods will total about 40 per cent after the agreement, compared with levels of 145 per cent before.
Bessent said neither Washington nor Beijing wanted a “generalised decoupling” although the Trump administration sought “strategic decoupling” for industries such as semiconductors, medicines and steel.
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