Trump backs down and announces his intention to reduce tariffs on Chinese goods to improve trade relations
US President Donald Trump stated that the country must reduce tariffs on Chinese goods, otherwise it will be impossible to develop trade relations between the two countries.
“At some point, I’m going to lower them, or we’ll never be able to deal with them,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News.
At the same time, Trump indicated that he wouldn’t lower protective trade barriers on Chinese goods to initiate negotiations between Washington and Beijing.
On the other hand, Trump considered that the Chinese economy was being destroyed by the tariffs imposed by the United States, saying: “The Chinese are suffering now… They are being completely destroyed… Their factories are closing… Their unemployment is very high… Their economy is in very bad shape”.
It’s worth noting that in April, the International Monetary Fund released updated forecasts, predicting that China’s economic growth in 2025 would slow to 4%, 0.6 percentage points lower than previous forecasts.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund significantly lowered its forecast for US GDP growth this year, projecting a slowdown in US economic growth of 1.8%, 0.9 percentage points lower than the Fund’s January estimate.
It’s noteworthy that on April 2, 2025, Trump announced the imposition of tariffs on products from 185 countries and regions.
The 10% flat fee went into effect on April 5, while the individual fee began to be applied on April 9.
Meanwhile, the US president raised tariffs on Chinese products to 125%.
Adding the additional 20% tariffs previously imposed on China, Canada, and Mexico for what he described as their governments’ inaction in combating fentanyl smuggling into the United States, the total tariffs on Chinese goods now stand at 145%, while Beijing retaliated by imposing 125% tariffs on US imports.
Experts have warned that an escalating trade dispute between China and the United States would have dire consequences for the global economy as a whole.
