US Treasury chief expects China tariff impasse to de-escalate

The trade standoff between Washington and Beijing is not sustainable, the US Treasury chief said Tuesday, as President Donald Trump predicted sky-high tariffs on many Chinese imports would come down "substantially."

Speaking at a closed-door event hosted by JPMorgan Chase, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the enormous tariffs the world's two biggest economies placed on each other's imports this year amounted to a reciprocal trade embargo, but that he expects de-escalation.

Since Donald Trump's White House return in January, the United States has slapped additional tariffs of 145 percent on many products from China.

On Tuesday, Trump acknowledged that 145 percent is a "very high" level, and that this will "come down substantially."

"They will not be anywhere near that number," he said, adding, however, that "it won't be zero."

Beijing has responded to Washington's latest salvo with sweeping counter-tariffs of 125 percent on US goods.

Bessent told the JPMorgan event Tuesday that he expects a de-escalation in the near future, according to a person who was in the room.

Such a development should bring markets some relief, he added at the event, which was not open to media.

Wall Street's major indexes jumped after a news report on Bessent's comments at the event, which took place on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's Spring Meetings.

Bessent said there is much to be done at the end of the day with Beijing.

The Treasury chief stressed that the goal is not to decouple with China, noting that container bookings between both countries have slumped recently as trade tensions heated up.

On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Washington is "doing very well in respect to a potential trade deal with China."

"The president and the administration are setting the stage for a deal," she added, noting that "the ball is moving in the right direction."

She said the feeling is that parties involved want to see a trade deal happen.

As global finance ministers and central bankers converge in Washington this week, all eyes are on the progress of trade talks on the sidelines of the spring meetings as countries grapple with Trump's new and wide-ranging tariffs.