Treasury Secretary Says It's On China To End Trade War: 'Tariffs Are Unsustainable'

by Adam Eckert Benzinga Staff Writer

Zinger Key Points

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent calls on China to de-escalate the ongoing trade tensions between the U.S. and China.
"They sell five times more to us than we sell to them," Bessent says.
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says it’s up to China to de-escalate the current trade war with the U.S.

What To Know: “As I’ve repeatedly said, I believe that it's up to China to de-escalate because they sell five times more to us than we sell to them. And so these 125%, 145% tariffs are unsustainable," Bessent said on Monday’s episode of CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

President Donald Trump announced sweeping reciprocal tariffs on several countries on April 2 in what he called “Liberation Day” for America. The president later announced a 90-day pause on a majority of tariffs, but ramped up duties on China, citing a “lack of respect” for global markets.

The S&P 500, tracked by the SPDR S&P 500 SPY, has been volatile since the ongoing trade war threatens global supply chains and has raised recession fears. Markets have whipsawed in recent weeks on headlines related to U.S.-China trade tensions.

Trump said last week in an interview with Time magazine that Chinese President Xi Jinping had reached out to him via phone call to discuss trade tensions. On Monday, China’s foreign ministry contradicted those reports, claiming that President Xi had not spoken to Trump at all, per Reuters.

When asked about the phone call on CNBC Monday morning, Bessent replied, “The Treasury Secretary does a lot of things, but running the White House switchboard isn’t one of them.” He added that “all aspects of government are in contact with China. And in terms of trade negotiations, we’ll see where this goes.”

Bessent told CNBC that the Trump administration has made progress in negotiations with most nations in recent weeks, but said China negotiations were “more complex.” He noted that “many” countries have reached out and offered “very good” proposals, which are currently being evaluated. Bessent also indicated that India could be one of the first trade deals signed.

“When I look at these proposals … I just think, ‘how did we get here?’ And I agree with President Trump, I don’t blame it on these countries, I blame it on the past administrations,” Bessent said.

“It’s going to be a big victory when we make progress in getting these tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers, currency manipulation, state subsidies of labor and industry off.”

The SPY was down 0.05% at $550.33 at the time of publication Monday morning after coming off of a four-day steak of gains last week. The S&P 500 was still in correction territory at last check, hovering just over 10% off the peak from February.

Meanwhile, consumer sentiment plunged in April to its lowest point since 2022, missing forecasts by a wide margin. Also, retailers fear that Trump’s tariffs will lead to a sudden drop in imports and, ultimately, empty shelves and “COVID-like” shortages.

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