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Donald Trump says he may speak to Xi Jinping this week following US-China tariff agreement
‘Total reset’ in bilateral relations achieved, he adds, after weekend talks in Switzerland yield agreed reduction in tariffs for 90 days
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US President Donald Trump on Monday said he is likely to speak with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in the coming days, claiming a “total reset” in relations and asserting that the weekend talks would prove great for “unification and peace”.
“The talks in Geneva were very friendly,” Trump said of the negotiations that took place in Switzerland on Saturday and Sunday. “The relationship is very, very good. I’ll speak to President Xi maybe at the end of the week.”
The two sides agreed to sharply reduce tariffs for 90 days from eye-watering US levels of 145 per cent imposed by Trump on “liberation day” and from Chinese levels of 125 per cent.
Import taxes on China imposed by the US still remaining higher than when Trump took office by some calculations at about 55 per cent.
That includes 25 per cent tariffs that the American leader slapped on imports from China during his first administration, 20 per cent tied for fentanyl and 10 per cent applied broadly to all countries.
China agreed, meanwhile, to drop its US import levy to 10 per cent.
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Trump says he can see himself dealing directly with Xi on US-China trade deal details
Trump says he can see himself dealing directly with Xi on US-China trade deal details
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