Floating Button
Home News Global Economy

Bessent expects tariff standoff with China to de-escalate

Daniel Flatley, Jorgelina do Rosario and Kerim Karakaya / Bloomberg
Daniel Flatley, Jorgelina do Rosario and Kerim Karakaya / Bloomberg • 3 min read
Bessent expects tariff standoff with China to de-escalate
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Photo: Bloomberg
Font Resizer
Share to Whatsapp
Share to Facebook
Share to LinkedIn
Scroll to top
Follow us on Facebook and join our Telegram channel for the latest updates.
Add as a preferred source on Google

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a closed-door investor summit Tuesday that the tariff standoff with China cannot be sustained by both sides and that the world's two largest economies will have to find ways to de-escalate.

That de-escalation will come in the very near future, Bessent said during an event hosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Washington, which wasn't open to the public or media. He characterized the current situation as essentially a trade embargo, according to people who attended the session.

Bessent said that it was not the US's goal to decouple from China and that the current status quo of 145% tariffs on Chinese goods by the US and 125% tariffs on US products by China was not sustainable. He expressed optimism that tensions could cool in the coming months, which would bring relief to markets, but cautioned that a larger deal could take longer.

×
The Edge Singapore
Download The Edge Singapore App
Google playApple store play
Keep updated
Follow our social media
© 2026 The Edge Publishing Pte Ltd. All rights reserved.