Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated the U.S. is satisfied with the current tariff set up with China, a signal the Trump administration is looking to maintain calm with its economic rival before a trade truce expires in November.
When asked in a Fox News interview when progress in negotiations would be seen and if the U.S. needed a trade agreement because of how tariffs were going, Bessent said that “we’re very happy” with the situation with China. “I think right now the status quo is working pretty well,” he said.
“China is the biggest revenue line in the tariff income—so if it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” he said in the interview on Tuesday. “We have had very good talks with China. I imagine we’ll be seeing them again before November.”
Bessent’s remarks indicate that an easing of tensions between the two sides remains in place, potentially creating an opening for President Donald Trump to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Last week, Trump extended a pause on higher tariffs on Chinese goods for another 90 days into early November, a move that stabilized trade ties between the world’s two largest economies.
Bessent defended the administration’s lack of secondary tariffs on China in an interview with CNBC, saying India only ramped up its purchases after the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
