Trump would consider reducing tariffs on China by more than half, according to ‘The Wall Street Journal’
The Treasury Secretary of the United States, Scott Bessent, argued on Wednesday in Washington that the United States and China have a significant opportunity to rebalance their economies, adding that there is an «incredible opportunity» to do so together in the context of a realignment of the global trade system towards greater equity.
«There is a significant opportunity,» Bessent said during his speech at an event of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), where he noted that while the United States seeks to rebalance its economy towards more manufacturing and less consumption, China seeks less dependence on export-driven manufacturing growth and a rebalancing towards domestic consumption.
However, Bessent pointed out that, according to recent data, the Chinese economy is moving further away from consumption and towards manufacturing, so the Chinese economic system, with growth driven by manufacturing exports, «will create even more serious imbalances» if the status quo is maintained.
«It is an unsustainable model that not only harms China but the entire world,» he criticized, insisting that China needs to change.
«The country knows it needs to change. Everyone knows it needs to change, and we want to help it change because we also need a rebalance,» he said, suggesting that «if they want to rebalance, let’s do it together. This is an incredible opportunity.»
The olive branch extended by Washington to Beijing coincides with the information published by ‘The Wall Street Journal’, which on Wednesday reported, citing an unidentified knowledgeable source, that the White House is considering significantly reducing tariffs on imports from China, to between 50% and 65%, from the current 145%, although it warned that the final decision would be made by President Donald Trump.
The occupant of the White House also softened his tone towards the Asian superpower and on Tuesday showed willingness to «be very good» with China and find a way to «work together,» which would allow tariffs on products from the giant Asian nation to be reduced «substantially,» although not down to zero.
MESSAGE TO EUROPE.
On the other hand, the Treasury Secretary of the United States argued that trade is not the only factor influencing global economic imbalances, pointing out that a persistent excessive dependence on U.S. demand, while policies in some countries promote excess savings, impeding private sector growth or artificially depressing wages, hinders growth and «is leading to an increasingly unbalanced global economy.»
In this way, Bessent did not hesitate to mention the report prepared by Mario Draghi to refer to Europe, which identifies several sources of stagnation and proposes a series of recommendations to straighten out the European economy.
«European countries would do well to take his recommendations seriously,» he emphasized, noting that the EU has already taken some initial steps that create a new source of global demand and imply that Europe is increasing its efforts to meet its security needs.
In this regard, he indicated that if the United States continues to provide security guarantees and open markets, Washington’s allies must intensify their commitments to shared defense, so he pointed out that the initial steps to increase fiscal and defense spending «show that the Trump Administration’s policies are working.»
«America first does not mean America alone,» Bessent argued to call for deeper collaboration based on mutual respect among trading partners, allowing the U.S. to assume a stronger leadership role in restoring equity in the international economic system.
«The ‘status quo’ of broad and persistent imbalances is not sustainable. It is not sustainable for the United States or, ultimately, for other economies,» he stated, adding that economic and financial stability is the kind of sustainability that raises living standards and keeps markets afloat.