US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on China are unlikely to ease, despite ongoing talks towards a comprehensive deal targeted for November, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The US seems “very comfortable” with the current rate of tariffs, the sources said, adding that the recent negotiations have mostly revolved around “broader” issues like TikTok, subsidies and export controls since the Trump administration remains focused on collecting revenues to fix the fiscal deficit.
“President Trump is very comfortable with the current level of tariff … and Chinese imports is a big chunk” of the revenue source, one person familiar said. Another person noted that the US side was “happy” with the current situation.
Trump imposed 20 per cent fentanyl-related tariffs on Chinese imports in February. He later added another 34 per cent reciprocal levies. After Beijing retaliated with its own tariffs on some American imports, the trade war escalated to about 145 per cent on the US side and 125 per cent on the Chinese side.
A truce was agreed to after multiple rounds of negotiations starting in May in Geneva, and later in London, Stockholm and Madrid. In August, the truce was extended by Trump until November 10. However, the average US tariff on Chinese imports still hovers around 55 per cent.
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