After imposing tariffs of up to 125% on goods from China, US President Donald Trump has said that these will ‘come down substantially’, FreightWaves reported.
Trump took the softer tone at a White House news event on 22 April, the report on the next day said.
“We’re going to be setting the deal, and it will be a fair deal for everybody … It will come down substantially. But it won’t be zero,” Trump was quoted as saying in a report by The Independent on 23 April.
The White House is considering reducing existing tariffs on Chinese goods to between 50%-65%, according to a 23 April report by the Wall Street Journal, citing a White House official.
Meanwhile, Chinese officials had indicated a willingness to engage in trade negotiations with the USA, FreightWaves wrote.
“To fight, we will fight to the end; to talk, the door is wide open,” a 23 April China Daily report quoted Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun as saying at a news conference.
The Trump administration launched its “reciprocal” tariff plan on about 90 US trade partners on 2 April, including a baseline 10% tariff on trade partners, as well as 25% tariffs on specific imported vehicles and auto parts.
After insisting for days that he would hold firm on his trade strategy, Trump then announced on 9 April that all countries that had not retaliated against US tariffs would receive a 90-day reprieve until July but would still face a blanket US tariff of 10%, The Guardian wrote on the same day.
However, Trump said he would raise US tariffs on Chinese exports to 125% effective immediately. In response, China increased duties on imports of US goods from 84% to 125% and also introduced restrictions on exports of rare earth materials to the USA.
The reciprocal tariffs between the USA and China has impacted global markets disrupted supply chains and prompted fears of recession.
Meanwhile, the American Soybean Association (ASA) said soyabean farmers were concerned about the impact of the continued escalation of tariffs with China.
“The short-term disruptions are painful, but the long-term repercussions to our reputation, our reliability as a supplier, and the stability of those trading relationships are hard to put into words,” ASA president Caleb Ragland said.
China had not placed an order for US corn and soyabeans since 16 January, four days before Trump’s inauguration as president, World Grain wrote on 21 April, citing a Nikkei Asia report quoting US Department of Agriculture (USDA) data.
In 2024, China imported more than 27M tonnes of soyabeans from the USA, worth around US$12.8bn, according to the USDA.
China was the third-ranked US trading partner in 2024 with US$582bn in two-way international commerce, according to a 23 April FreightWaves report.
