President Donald Trump says the US will not play “hardball” with China, telling reporters in the White House that tariffs on China will ultimately not be “anywhere near” the current 145 per cent.
During comments in the Oval House on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST), Trump insisted the tariffs on Chinese imports would be reduced “substantially”.
Asked if the US was going to play hardball with China in order to make a deal, or if officials would mention the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump quickly responded: “No.”
“I’m not going to mention COVID. I’m not going to say: ‘Oh, I’m going to play hardball with China. I’m going to play hardball with you, President Xi,'” Trump said.
“No, no, we’re going to be very nice. They’re going to be very nice, and we’ll see what happens,” the president said.
“But ultimately, they have to make a deal, because otherwise they’re not going to be able to deal in the United States, and we want them involved.”
Speaking on the additional tariffs he slapped on China, Trump said that 145 per cent was “very high” and that “it won’t be that high.”
“It won’t be anywhere near that high. It’ll come down substantially, but it won’t be zero,” Trump said. “Used to be zero.”
The president later reiterated he thought the US would make a deal with China.
“I think we’re going to live together very happily and ideally work together, so I think it’s going to work out very well,” he said.
Trump also said he had “no intention of firing” Federal Reserve Bank chair Jerome Powell.
“I don’t want to talk about that, because I have no intention of firing him.
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“I would like to see him be more active in terms of his idea to lower interest rates. It’s a perfect time to lower interest rates.”
Trump has attacked the Federal Reserve chair several times in recent days, calling on him to lower interest rates as economic uncertainty over tariffs has rattled the markets.
He has previously suggested that he does have the power to fire the independent Federal Reserve chair, whose term doesn’t expire until 2026.
Trump’s comments came amid a report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday that warned the president’s unpredictable tariff policy and countermeasures by America’s trading partners will likely deal a heavy blow to economies worldwide, with US prosperity hit particularly hard.