Trump says tariffs could affect how much you buy for your child
President Donald Trump says tariffs on China could affect the costs of children’s products.
WASHINGTON – Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent and lead trade negotiator Jamieson Greer met China’s top economic officer this week in Switzerland, and US officials said it could be the first step towards solving a trade war that will destroy the world economy.
News from the meeting late Tuesday saw US stock index futures rise sharply as trading resumed after a second consecutive day of losses on Wall Street, fueled by President Donald Trump’s uncertainty over the tariff tsunami. S&P 500 Emini futures were about 1% higher.
The office of US trade representatives and the Treasury Department said Greer and Bescent will travel together to Geneva on Thursday to meet Swiss President Karin Keller Sutter to discuss negotiations on mutual trade.
The agency did not name which officials would attend the meeting from Beijing. Only two say they will be involved with China’s “major representatives on economic issues.”
China’s Deputy Prime Minister Lifeeng is widely viewed as the country’s economic emperor and chief trade negotiator.
The development comes amid the ongoing mixed signal execution over the progress of consultations with key trading partners who are rushing to cement trading to avoid imposition of heavy import taxes on goods.
Bescent told lawmakers on the day that the Trump administration is in negotiations with 17 major trading partners, but is still in negotiations with China, and that they can announce a trade deal with them as early as this week.
Trump told reporters before meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, he and the top executive will decide whether to consider potential trade deals over the next two weeks to send stocks lower.
The agency’s statement did not describe a meeting with Chinese officials as the beginning of negotiations. Washington and Beijing are trapped in a cat and mouse game over tariffs, each of whom do not want to set back in a trade war that has shaken up global markets and beat supply chains.
Trump and his top officials have been engaged in large meetings with trading partner partners since announcing 10% tariffs in most countries on April 2, with the high tariff rates for many trading partners beginning on July 9, except for another trade agreement. Trump also imposes 25% tariffs on automobiles, steel and aluminum, 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and 145% tariffs on China.
China responded by increasing tariffs on US goods to 125%, but exemptions were provided. The European Union’s top official said on Tuesday that if a trade agreement with Washington is not reached, the 27-nation bloc is preparing measures, adding that he has been contacted by other countries seeking to develop close trade ties with the EU.
“Economic security is national security, and President Donald J. Trump is leading the way in and out of America, where it is stronger and more prosperous,” Bescent said in a statement. “I look forward to productive consultations as we work towards re-aligning the international economic system to better serve the interests of the United States.”
Trump’s move on tariffs is aimed at reducing the US trade deficit, he said, but so far has had the opposite effect. The US Department of Commerce reported Tuesday that trade gaps fell on record in March as businesses boosted imports of goods ahead of tariffs. In particular, efforts by drug makers to beat tariffs Trump threatened to impose on the sector have led to a record surge in drug imports.
Trade data highlighted the dynamics that helped drive GDP into negative territory for the first time in three years in the first quarter of 2025.
Since taking office in January, Trump has accumulated new tariffs on Chinese imports totaling 145% to punish China for unfair trade practices and the US fentanyl crisis. China is responding with a retaliatory tariff of 125%. Bessent calls these levels unsustainable and an effective trade embargo between the two largest economies of the world.
