Tariffs on China to drop 'substantially, but it won't be zero': Trump

“It won’t be that high, not going to be that high,” he said.

Trump’s remarks followed reported comments at a private conference by treasury secretary Scott Bessent earlier in the day about the high tariffs being ‘unsustainable’ and that he expects a ‘de-escalation’ in the US-China trade war.

Trump levied import taxes worth 145 per cent on China, while the latter countered with 125-per cent tariffs on US goods.

“We’re doing fine with China,” Trump was quoted as saying by domestic media reports.

Trump said he would be ‘very nice’ to China despite the high tariffs and not play hardball with President Xi Jinping. “We’re going to live together very happily and ideally work together,” he said.

China recently cautioned its trading partners against making trade deals with the United States that could affect China.

“China firmly opposes any party reaching a deal at the expense of China’s interests,” China’s Commerce Ministry had said in a statement.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)