President Donald Trump has declared a significant reduction in the high tariffs placed on Chinese goods, although they will not be completely abolished.

What Happened: At a White House press conference on Tuesday, Trump addressed earlier remarks made by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who had reportedly characterized the high tariffs as “unsustainable” and stated that he expects ‘de-scalation’ in U.S.-China tariffs.

Trump also assured that the final tariff rate with China would be “substantially” lower than the current 145%. “It won’t be that high, not going to be that high,” Trump said, reported The Associated Press. However, he emphasized, “It won’t be zero.”

Previously, Trump had enforced a 145% import tax on Chinese goods, which China countered with a 125% tariff on U.S. goods. Bessent had anticipated a “de-escalation” in the ongoing trade war between the two economic powerhouses.

Although Trump did not directly comment on whether he found the current situation with China to be unsustainable, he expressed optimism about the future of U.S.-China relations. He stated, “We’re doing fine with China,” and pledged to be “very nice” to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Trump further stated that the U.S. is not going to ‘play hardball’ with China and that country would ‘have to’ make a deal with the U.S. “If they don’t make a deal, we will set the deal,” asserted Trump.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.