U.S. Treasury Secretary says “substantive progress” made in China's tariff negotiations, but details are still very small

“Substantive progress” is sensitive Talks between the US and China delegation Treasury Secretary said on Sunday that tariffs this weekend could disrupt the global economy.

Scott Bessent met with his Chinese vice-president in Switzerland for two days with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. In a statement Sunday, he provided accurate information about the negotiations, but will provide more details in the briefing on Monday.

Meanwhile, Greer suggested that an agreement had been reached, but no details were provided. He and Bessent briefly spoke to reporters once spoke in the stately villa, the residence of the Swiss ambassador in Geneva, without any questions.

“It's important to understand how quickly we can agree on, which reflects that the difference may not be that big,” Greer said.

But he also stressed that Trump’s top administration’s priorities meant ending the trade deficit with China, reaching $263 billion last year.

The talks may help stabilize the world market that was shattered by the US-China standoff, but have been kept secret and held in the rich 18th-century “Villa Saladin” overlooking Lake Geneva. According to the Geneva government, the former estate was bequeathed to Switzerland in 1973.

Hopefully the two countries can reduce their massive taxes (tariffs) on each other's goods, a move that will ease the world's financial markets and depend on companies that rely on the U.S.-China trade.

President Trump posted on his social media Saturday night after the first day of the meeting, saying “huge progress” has been made.

“There was a very good meeting with China today in Switzerland,” Trump said. “A lot of things were discussed, very agreeable. The overall reset was done in a friendly but constructive way. We want to see that China is open to American business for the sake of China and the United States.”

In an interview with NBC News last week, Mr. Trump claimed that Chinese officials “hope to make a bad deal. We will see all of this, but it turns out to be certain.” The president also said he expects to lower tariffs on China “at some point.”

Meanwhile, Chinese officials said they were willing to engage in trade talks with the United States, but prompted the Trump administration to reject its “unilateral” tariffs first.

Trump raised U.S. tariffs on China last month Total 145%And China hit U.S. imports by levying 125%. The high tariffs are basically attributed to countries boycotting each other’s products, destroying trade last year by more than $660 billion.

Even before the negotiations began, Mr. Trump suggested on Friday that the U.S. could lower tariffs on China and say in a truth-clarifying social position.”The 80% tariff seems to be correct! Go to Scott. ''

Sun Yun, director of China Programs at the Stimson Center, pointed out that this will be the first time he and Bessent have discussed it. She doubted whether the Geneva meeting would produce any substantial results.

“The best situation is that both parties agree to downgrade the tariffs at the same time,” she said. “It can't be a word.”

Since returning to the White House in January, Mr. Trump has actively used tariffs as his favorite economic weapon. For example, he imposes a 10% tax on imports from almost every country in the world.

But the battle with China is the most intense. His tariffs on China include 20% charges aimed at putting pressure on Beijing to prevent the flow of synthetic opioid fentanyl into the United States. The remaining 125% involves a dispute that goes back to Mr. Trump’s first term and imposed tariffs on China at the time, meaning that the total tariffs on certain Chinese goods could exceed 145%.

During Mr. Trump's first term, the United States claimed that China used unfair strategies to give itself an advantage in advanced technologies such as quantum computing and driverless cars. These allegations include forcing us and other foreign companies to hand over trade secrets in exchange for opportunities to enter the Chinese market; using government funds to subsidize domestic technology companies; and the complete theft of sensitive technology.

These problems have never been completely resolved. After nearly two years of negotiations, the United States and China reached a so-called Phase I agreement in January 2020. Tougher issues (such as China's subsidies) are left to future negotiations.

But China has not passed the promised purchase, partly because global trade after the Covid-19 announcement of the first phase of the armistice has undermined global trade.

Now, the struggle for China's technological policy is now recovering.

Mr. Trump was also excited by a huge trade deficit with China, reaching $263 billion last year.

Best and Greer will also meet with Swiss President Carlin Keller Sett on Friday in Switzerland.

Trump suspended plans to charge 31% of Swiss goods last month, which exceeded his 20% tax on EU exports. Currently, he has lowered those taxes to 10%, but warned him that he can raise the tax again.

The Bern government is taking a cautious approach. But it warns of key impacts on key industries in Switzerland, such as watches, coffee capsules, cheese and chocolate.

“The increase in trade tensions is not in Switzerland's interest. Countermeasures against U.S. tariffs will need to cost the Swiss economy, especially by making U.S. imports more expensive,” the government said last week, adding that the administration “is not planning to impose any objection at the moment.”

On Saturday, Best said the trade talks with Switzerland were “very productive” and he was “optimistic about the speed of these negotiations”, citing Mr. Trump's topic. Trade agreement with the UK That's still being done.

“I'm glad we have agreed to accelerated trade negotiations and we hope to submit a detailed Swiss proposal next week,” Bessent wrote on social media. “Swiss companies are interested in investing CHF 150 billion in the U.S. investment due to President Trump's policies, and we look forward to our ongoing negotiations.”

The United States is Switzerland's second largest trading partner after the EU, a group of 27 people that revolves around more than 9 million wealthy alpine countries. The government says that over the past two decades, the U.S.-Siweis trade in goods and services has tripled.

The Swiss government said that Switzerland abolished all industrial tariffs on January 1 last year, which means that 99% of all goods from the United States can be imported into Switzerland with duty-free duty.

Contributed to this report.