BREAKTHROUGH: Trump Officials Set Date For Direct Trade Talks With China

.@SecScottBessent: "The world has been coming to the U.S. and China has been the missing piece. I was going to be in Switzerland to negotiate with the Swiss. Turns out, the Chinese team is traveling through Europe and they will be in Switzerland also. So, we will meet on Saturday… pic.twitter.com/QJZHl98bOx

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 6, 2025

BREAKTHROUGH: Trump Officials Set Date For Direct Trade Talks With China

A breakthrough in the tariff standoff between the United States and China emerged on Tuesday evening. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are poised to meet with Chinese officials in Switzerland over the weekend to discuss trade and economic matters, according to their respective agencies. China reportedly confirmed there will be talks.       

While many countries received a 90-day reprieve for “Liberation Day” tariffs above the baseline rate of 10% last month, the United States increased the overall penalty on Chinese goods to 145%. Beijing responded by raising tariffs on U.S. goods to 125%. 

“The world has been coming to the U.S. and China has been the missing piece,” Bessent said. He added later that the United States and China have “shared interests” and stressed that the current situation “isn’t sustainable, as I’ve said before, especially on the Chinese side.” 

Protests erupted in China last month as factory workers in Suining, Hunan, and Inner Mongolia demanded unpaid wages and benefits after factory closures triggered by Trump’s steep tariffs. The economy in the United States has also been impacted, with shipments from China falling and growing concerns about price increases.

Treasury’s Bessent on trade talks: US getting ‘good offers,’ most deals to be concluded by end of year.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that the U.S. is in the midst of negotiations with 17 of the country’s largest trading partners, and previewed a timeline for concluding those pending trade deals.

Bessent said in his testimony before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government that the timing of trade deals “will be path dependent on our trade partners.”

“There are 18 very important trading relationships. We are currently negotiating with 17 of those trading partners. China – we have not engaged in negotiations with as of yet,” he said.

Previously: Despite their denials, China is losing the tariffs war and retreating as fast as it can.

We’ll see — this has a long way to play out.