“145 percent is very high. It won’t be that high, it’s not going to be that high… it won’t be anywhere near that high,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“It will come down substantially, but it won’t be zero,” he added.
The overall tariff level currently imposed on China is 145 percent, which remained in place after Trump delayed the “reciprocal” tariffs on other trading partners for 90 days and reduced them to 10 percent.
“We’re going to be very nice. They’re going to be very nice, and we’ll see what happens. But ultimately, they have to make a deal because otherwise they’re not going to be able to deal in the United States,” Trump said, referring to China.
He cited his relationship with Xi as his reason for being optimistic about a deal.
The White House earlier Tuesday said that it was “setting the stage for a deal with China,” seeking to reassure nervous financial markets and investors that progress with Beijing could be imminent.
The Hill’s Alex Gangitano takes us to the Oval Office here.
