Trump is pushing for China’s “fair” agreement, as the deadlock of invoices continues

Washington: President Trump says he wants a “fair” trade agreement with China, but it is still unclear when the two sides break the deadlock over the invoices.

Speaking to Washington reporters on Wednesday, Trump said that talks with Beijing were continuing and that both countries could reach an agreement. However, top US officials did not provide clear answers about how or when the current invoices could be reduced.

Trump told reporters that his country would have a “fair deal with China”, adding that “everything is active” when asked if Washington was talking to Beijing.

However, how soon the invoices could be reduced “depends on them,” Trump said, referring to Beijing, even when he claimed he was taking “very well” with Chinese President Xi Jinping and hopes they can reach an agreement.

Commercial tensions between the world’s two largest economies have increased, as Trump has increased contributions to imports from China this year, imposing an additional 145 % invoice on many products above the practices that Washington considers unfair and other issues.

Beijing, in turn, has reacted with new 125 % invoices to US goods.

Despite the signals that Washington is considering a fair agreement, the situation of discussions remains dark.

Asked if there is direct contact with China for trade, Trump said, “Every day.”

However, earlier on Wednesday, US Finance Minister Scott Bessent told reporters that both countries do not “speak” when it comes to reducing invoices.

“I think both sides are waiting to talk to the other,” he said at an event on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank’s Spring meetings in Washington.

He added that there is no unilateral offer from Trump to reduce the duties of Chinese goods.

‘An embargo’

Bessent said that impressive high invoices and the two countries have imposed on each other’s goods should be reduced before the negotiation.

“I don’t think the two sides believe that today’s invoice levels are viable, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they fell down in a mutual way,” he added on the sidelines of an Institute of International Finance Forum.

“This is the equivalent of an embargo and a break between the two countries of trade does not fit one’s interest,” Bessent said, stressing that “escalation on both sides is possible.”

But he did not give a timetable for how soon bilateral conversations could be held.

“It is so a blessing and a curse that the strongest relationship is at the top,” said Bessent, referring to Trump’s ties with his Chinese counterpart Xi. However, with “any decomposition, the conversations would not start at the top”.

While Trump has quickly unfolded the intense invoices in various countries and sectors, it also has quick to introduce some exceptions – more recently a temporary depreciation for technology products such as smartphones and chipmaking tools.

It could expand carve-outs, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, saying Trump could rid parts of cars from some invoices to Chinese imports-along with steel and aluminum.

On Wednesday afternoon, Trump said he was not considering changes to US car prices, but noted that contributions to Canada could increase cars.

Separately, Bessent said on Wednesday that he had no stop over whether the president had the power to shoot Federal Reserve President Jerome Powell if he wanted.

He suggested Trump’s previous comment that Powell’s “finish” could not come fast enough could also be mentioned at the end of the Fed head.

Earlier on Wednesday, Bessent said in a speech that the economic model associated with Beijing exports is “unsustainable” and “not only to harm China but the whole world”.

He emphasized our concerns about the trade imbalances that Trump’s administration says he hopes to face through sweeping invoices.

But Bessent argued that “America first does not mean just America”.

He insisted that the administration’s moves are generally a call for deeper cooperation and mutual respect among commercial partners, while aiming at politics from other countries that said they have fallen into the US construction and endangering its safety.