On Saturday night, President Donald Trump took to True Social to share that “great progress” was made over the weekend in trade negotiations with China.
During a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, various topics were discussed between U.S. officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent, and the Chinese delegation. Trump mentioned, “I agreed,” indicating some level of consensus.
According to the Associated Press, talks were set to continue on Sunday, but no significant breakthroughs were reported during that time.
The administration initiated tariffs on April 2, subsequently imposing a staggering 145% tariff on Chinese goods. After reducing mutual tariffs from other countries to a 10% baseline for a 90-day period, China retaliated by raising U.S. tariffs to 125%.
Earlier, Trump expressed his desire for a “very” solid deal to resolve the ongoing tariff dispute during a press conference in China on Thursday.
While details were sparse on Saturday night, Trump characterized the potential agreement as “a complete reset negotiated in a friendly yet constructive way.”
In a post, he stated, “We want to see China open to American businesses for the benefit of both China and the US. Great progress!!!”
A strong advocate for tariffs, Trump argued that “fair” obligations could help tackle the staggering $1.2 trillion trade deficit recorded in 2024 and enable the return of manufacturing jobs to the U.S.
In April, Bescent noted that tariffs could lead to the loss of up to 10 million jobs in China, rendering the Chinese tariffs unsustainable.
He added, “Even if tariffs drop, they could lose five million jobs,” while speaking to reporters at the White House.
Trump also pointed out that the U.S. has a significant trade imbalance: “They sell us almost five times more items than we sell to them. So we are responsible for removing these tariffs.”
