Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated that the escalating trade war between Washington and Beijing may be approaching a turning point, with a possible halt to further tariff increases. At the same time, a resolution regarding the fate of TikTok’s U.S. operations remains stalled.
“I don’t want them to go higher because at a certain point you make it where people don’t buy,” Trump told reporters at the White House, referring to tariffs imposed on Chinese goods.
“So, I may not want to go higher or I may not want to even go up to that level. I may want to go to less because you know you want people to buy and, at a certain point, people aren’t gonna buy,” he added.
His remarks suggest a cooling in the administration’s appetite for sweeping new tariffs, especially after global markets were rattled by the aggressive measures introduced on April 2. Trump had earlier implemented a 10% tariff on most imported goods, while holding off on steeper hikes pending trade negotiations.
Despite the moderation in tone, tariffs on Chinese imports were later raised significantly, reaching a combined rate of 145%, as Beijing responded with its own retaliatory measures. However, China has recently signaled it will not escalate further, stating it “will not respond” to a “numbers game with tariffs”.
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Trump revealed that communication channels with Beijing have remained open since the tariffs took effect and voiced hope that the two countries could eventually strike a broader trade agreement. Still, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that sustained, high-level dialogue has been lacking, making an imminent breakthrough less likely.
Asked about the details of the ongoing talks or whether Chinese President Xi Jinping was personally involved, Trump declined to elaborate.
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In parallel to the trade discussions, attention remains focused on TikTok, the popular short video app owned by China-based ByteDance. Trump has repeatedly postponed a deadline requiring ByteDance to sell off its U.S. operations, used by 170 million Americans.
“We have a deal for TikTok, but it’ll be subject to China so we’ll just delay the deal ’til this thing works out one way or the other,” Trump said, suggesting that the transaction is effectively on hold until the broader trade landscape becomes clearer.
