Beijing and Washington on the verge of talks, Trump suggests lowering tariffs

"80% tariffs on China seem like the right level! It depends on Scott B.," the US president wrote on his Truth Social network, referring to the person who will lead the negotiations for Washington, his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Donald Trump "is not going to unilaterally leave tariffs on China. We also need to see concessions from them," his spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt later clarified.

After weeks of escalating tensions between the two countries, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are scheduled to meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng this weekend in Geneva.

The exact location of the meeting remains unknown.

"Yesterday (Thursday), the Holy Spirit was in Rome. We must hope that he will now come down to Geneva for the weekend," Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter said on Friday, referring to the election of Pope Leo XIV.

Since returning to the White House in January, Donald Trump has imposed a total 145% surcharge on goods from China, on top of existing tariffs.

Beijing retaliated by imposing 125% tariffs on American products.

Result: bilateral trade has practically ground to a halt.

For Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin, it is already "a success" that "the two parties are talking to each other."

"We can imagine a suspension, for example, of reciprocal customs duties during the discussions. (...) Such a hypothetical decision would be positive for the whole world," he told the press on Friday.

The discussions planned in Geneva are "a positive and constructive step towards de-escalation," said WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Always "too high"

The tariffs are such that "no party can afford for this to continue," said Xu Bin, a professor of economics at the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai.

"However, both countries have shown that, without concessions from the other side, they are not ready to take the first step," the economist added.

On a "practical" level, it's also a problem, according to Bill Reinsch, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Donald Trump wants to meet his counterpart Xi Jinping, "find an agreement with him, and then have their subordinates sort out the details," he told AFP, while the Chinese "want all issues resolved before a meeting" between the two presidents.

Professor Xu Bin does not expect tariffs to return to a "reasonable level": "Even if they do go down, it will probably be by half, and again, that will be too high to have normal trade."

The quest for deals

Switzerland took advantage of its role as host to hold talks with US officials on Friday, as Washington threatened to impose a 31% surcharge on its products.

The Swiss president reported afterward that both sides "agreed" to speed up the discussions.

Since his inauguration in January, the Republican president has launched an all-out protectionist offensive: new sectoral customs duties (+25% on steel, aluminum, and automobiles), universal customs duties (+10% on most products entering the United States, regardless of their origin), and others in the pipeline.

Even heavier taxes were planned to punish partners who export more to the United States than vice versa.

Donald Trump suspended them - except for China, of course - until the beginning of July to give negotiations a chance, according to him.

On Thursday, the president announced an initial agreement with London, which was not targeted by the punitive surcharges.

The document, presented as "historic" by both sides, is five pages long. It specifies that it is "not legally binding."

It is intended to allow the UK to avoid the brunt of US surcharges on its cars and to further open the British market to US agricultural products.

New negotiations are now due to begin between London and Washington to formalize their respective commitments, but US tariffs on British products remain in place for the time being, a British government spokesperson said.