Trump Says 145% on Chinese Imports Will Drop Far Below That Number

When asked late on April 23 how soon he might bring down tariffs on China, Trump replied, "Well, that depends on them."

As he talked about dealmaking with countries around the world, he said, "In the end, we're going to have great deals. If we don't have a deal with a company or a country, we just set the tariff. That will happen, I'd say, over the next two-three weeks, we'll be setting the number."

A reporter asked if China was included in that plan, and he said vaguely, "Could be for China too. We're dealing with almost all of them, too many to fully deal with, but we're going to be fair to them."

Privately, the day before, Bessent said the administration's goal was not to decouple from China, and that de-escalation would happen in the "very near future."

Trump told reporters late in the afternoon April 22 that the 145% tariff level on Chinese goods "is very high, and it won't be that high .... No, it won't be anywhere near that high. It'll come down substantially. But it won't be zero. Used to be zero. We were just destroyed."

Trump said he won't play hardball when he meets with President Xi Jinping. "No, we're going to be very nice. They're going to be very nice, and we'll see what happens. But ultimately, they have to make a deal, because otherwise they're not going to be able to deal in the United States. So we want them involved, but they have to, and other countries have to make a deal, and if they don't make a deal, we'll set the deal, because we're, we're the ones that set the deal, Scott and Howard and myself and others, we're going to be setting the deal, and it'll be a fair deal for everybody, and it'll be, I think it's a process that's going to go pretty quickly."

On April 23, he said of China, "I hope we can make a deal. Hopefully, they'll come here and contribute." He said the 145% tariff is so high, "it basically means China's not doing any business with us."

Trump said because of the 25% tariffs on cars, steel and aluminum, and the tariffs due to fentanyl, the U.S. is no longer losing billions of dollars daily, as he characterizes the trade deficit.

"That money's going to be used to reduce taxes," he said. "We're going to get big, big tax breaks."

The Wall Street Journal reported that the administration is considering -- but Trump has not yet decided -- lowering Chinese tariffs to an average of 50% to 65%, though less strategic goods may face lower tariffs, and others, higher tariffs.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the U.S. has received written trade proposals from 18 countries, and 34 countries' representatives were meeting with Cabinet members on trade this week alone.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in the Oval Office on April 23 that they've talked to 90 countries so far.

Photos of the Swiss economy minister and Peru trade minister meeting (at different times) with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were posted on social media, as was a picture from a video call with Vietnamese officials.

Trump said that nearly every country has come calling. "I see the stock market was up nicely, but this is a transition period, and it's going to be a little while, but we are doing well with every country. Ultimately, we have something they want, and you have to view it that way," he told reporters.

Although Bessent downplayed the likelihood of a quick shift in tariff policy with China on April 23, he did also say in prepared remarks that the U.S. is not turning its back on trade.

"I wish to be clear, America first does not mean America alone. To the contrary, it is a call for deeper collaboration and mutual respect among trade partners," he said.

Later in the day in the Oval Office, Trump said the new Canadian prime minister was "very, very nice" in their conversations, and said they're working on a deal.

He also said, "We can make our own cars. We have more energy than they do. We don't need their lumber. Obviously, we have a lot of everything they sell us, but in particular, cars. They took a large percentage of the carmaking, and I want to bring it back to this country. I really don't want cars from Canada. So when I put tariffs on Canada, they're paying 25%, but that could go up, in terms of cars."

A reporter asked if he is considering hiking the auto tariffs on Canada, and he replied, "We're not considering it now, but at some point it could go up."

"All we're saying is we don't want your cars. In all due respect, we want to make our own cars," he said. "I'd rather see them made in Michigan, made in South Carolina, made in Tennessee."

He also complained that Mexico took 32% of U.S. automaking.

At the Institute of International Finance, Bessent said, "Intentional policy choices by other countries have hollowed out America’s manufacturing sector and undermined our critical supply chains, putting our national and economic security at risk."

Bessent said he and other staffers "are engaged in meaningful discussions" with countries that want to change their bilateral trade terms with the U.S.

After his speech, Bessent participated in a Q&A, and said, "I think that our moves toward reordering the ... trading system is a start. We want to see results, and we want to see timelines."