Minister of Finance Scott Betting U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet with their Chinese counterparts in Switzerland over the weekend to discuss economic matters, an important first step between the two global superpowers since President Donald Trump announced the massive tariff imposition on Liberation Day.
Bessent told Ingraham Angle in an interview on Tuesday that he is planning to go to Switzerland for negotiations with Switzerland and discover that the Chinese team will also travel through Europe.
He did not explicitly mention which party was called the other party first, and he said, "As time goes by, there are many points of contact."
China's economic hardship threatens real war in the battle of tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump, along with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (L) and Business Secretary Howard Lutnick (R) spoke in the media on February 3, 2025, when he created the executive order to create the U.S. sovereign wealth fund in Washington, D.C., Washington, D.C. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
"The world has always been in the United States, and China has always been the work of China," Becent told Fox News host Laura Ingraham.
The White House has been trying Negotiating a trade agreement After Trump announced a 90-day pause in April for most so-called reciprocity tariffs, many countries, excluding China, face 145% tariffs.
"We've shared the benefits. As I said before, this is unsustainable, especially on China - and, you know, 145%, 125% is equally important for the embargo. We don't want to disband it - what we want is fair trade."
Since the suspension of implementation, no formal announcement of the transaction has been made. The Minister of Finance is White House News Brief Last week, the United States held substantial negotiations with Japan, and a deal with India could be about to happen.
Fox News graphic depicts how countries respond to President Donald Trump’s tariffs. (Fox News/Mandel and/AFP
Sen Rand Paul: Terminate Trump's tariffs before it's too late
Trump's tariffs have caused volatility in the financial markets since the announcement of "Liberation Day" on April 2. The president asked voters to be patient as his economic plan would take shape as he contracted 0.3% in the first quarter of 2025.
Bessent told Ingraham that he hopes the upcoming scheduled meeting with Chinese officials will be more about downgrades than a big trade deal.
He added: “We have to cancel the upgrade before we can move forward.”
Trump said in an interview with NBC's "Meeting Media" with Kristen Welker that at some point he will have to Reduce tariffs in China “Because otherwise, you can never do business with them.”
"They really want to do business …Their economy is collapsing," he said.
President-elect Donald Trump was held on Sunday, December 22, 2024 in Phoenix. On Tuesday, Trump announced two ambassador nominations. (AP Photos/Rick Scuctors)
Bessent did not discuss potential changes in tariff percentages, saying he would not negotiate in public, but said "everything is on the table."
"At the end of the day, the president said that if negotiations are not going well, he is happy to provide a number for all countries, and that's what we do with 17 other important trading partners," he explained.
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“You can negotiate sincerely, you can carry the game with you, or President Trump is happy to back up the numbers to Your April 2ndif you don't want to reduce tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers, currency manipulation, and subsidies for labor and industry. ”