Trump floats cutting China tariffs to 80% ahead of meeting as he looks to deescalate trade war

President Trump considers cutting tariffs on China from 145% to 80% to ease trade tensions in upcoming talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday (May 9, 2025) floated cutting tariffs on China from 145% to 80% ahead of a weekend meeting among top U.S. and Chinese trade officials as he looks to de-escalate the trade war.

Top U.S. officials are set to meet with a high-level Chinese delegation in Switzerland in the first major talks between the two nations since Mr. Trump sparked a trade war with stiff tariffs on imports.

Also read: China’s exports rise higher than expected 8% in April as new U.S. tariffs took effect

“80% Tariff on China seems right! Up to Scott B,” Mr. Trump wrote on his social media account on Friday (May 9, 2025) morning, referring to Scott Bessent, his Treasury chief, who has been a point person on trade. The Republican President also called on China to open its markets to the U.S., writing: “Would be so good for them!!! Closed markets don’t work anymore!!!”

Mr. Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet with their counterparts in Geneva in the most-senior known conversations between the two countries in months, the Trump administration announced this week. It comes amid growing U.S. market worry over the impact of the tariffs on the prices and supply of consumer goods.

No country has been hit harder by Mr. Trump’s trade war than China, the world’s biggest exporter and second largest economy. When Mr. Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs on April 2, China retaliated with tariffs of its own, a move that Mr. Trump viewed as demonstrating a lack of respect. The tariffs on each other’s goods have been mounting since then, with the U.S. tariffs against China now at 145% and China tariffs on the U.S. at 125%.

Mr. Trump had previously said that he wouldn’t lower the tariffs against China to hold substantive talks. But he showed signs of softening during an Oval Office appearance on Thursday, when he said he “could” lower the 145% rate charged on Chinese goods if the weekend talks go well.